The Dark Lands: Trial By Fire
by Vincent M. Pierce
Summary: After nearly five years of writing I have decided to rewrite my fan fictions. The story will be the same in idea but there will be much more content, plot, and character development. Trial By Fire is the official rewrite of The Conquering Koopa. For those for you unfamiliar with my work it follows the adventures of an original character and his life in Mushroom World.
1. Chapter I

At six-feet even Alexander's height was nothing to be impressed by, nor was his build which was solid but otherwise unremarkable. What drew so many looks was the head full of solid white hair. Only twenty-six years old many people would whisper and some even chanced to ask what he'd done to it. The answer was always the same, Alexander would tell people he was born this way. He even found it amusing how so many people overlooked his eyebrows which were white as well, it was even like that in a region much lower though he didn't make it a point of showing that off. The questions and occasional stares didn't bother Alexander as most people were polite, the others were just ignored. This was an aspect of his appearance that drew most of the attention away from the blue jeans and the simple black t-shirt the young man wore.

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and foot traffic in the mall was thick. Throngs of people moved about to and fro as the gentle murmur of indistinct conversations floated across the air. There were numerous signs with bright colors and large words trying to draw people in and part them from their money, but all were ignored as Alexander looked down at his new cell phone. Walking through the mall he programmed several numbers into it from memory, the last cell phone had met its demise as the hands of the toilet it was dropped into. Every so often Alexander would glance up to make sure he wasn't about to mow down any innocent passers-by and eventually exited through the main door into the parking lot.

Large crowds of people were never something he'd cared for but that particular electronics store in the mall had the best prices in town so it was briefly endured. Outside there were vehicles of all shapes, sizes, and descriptions and here Alexander gave his full attention to crossing the road. More than once in the past he'd almost been run down for not paying attention, so close was one of them that he was struck by a side view mirror. The sun beat down from a cloudless sky with such intensity that it heated the newly paved lot to the point of giving off an offensive chemical smell. On the way to his vehicle Alexander watched a small group of girls walk by lead by an older woman. They were attractive to look at but the first thought that came to mind was jail bait. Not a single one of them appeared to be over eighteen.

Near the middle of one aisle Alexander used his key chain to unlock the doors of an old but well aged blue sedan. The beige interior did nothing to make the vehicle stand out among others. Aside from the occasional missing knob or broken vent the Sedan was in good condition and with a single turn of the key it purred to life. As he backed out into the parking lot the cell phone made a simple ringing noise, it's default tone, only to be ignored. Texting or talking on the phone was something that Alexander refused to do while driving. The call was likely from his best and only friend Trevor. Already about ten minutes late he had promised to drop by today to hang out and shoot the breeze for a while.

Trevor would no doubt try to talk him into playing a video game, the recently purchased PlayStation 4 was something that was still talked about at length. Alexander on the other hand didn't even own a television which was rather ironic as he'd spent the last eight years working as a field technician for a cable company. Idiot boxes were a more accurate description in his mind, electronic screens that did nothing but waste a person's time with programming that wasn't even mildly interesting. Alexander often preferred to lose himself in a good book be it history, fiction, drama, or any other of a number of enjoyable genres. For a moment he mused over that thinking of how books had taught him more about life and the world than school ever did.

The drive to his friends apartment was uneventful and some twenty minutes later he pulled into the parking lot of a white two story apartment complex set with dozens of windows. The pavement was cracked with weeds growing up through them in some places and a fresh coat of paint would help, but all in all Alexander had seen worse. Bringing the car to a stop in one of the assigned visitor spaces he shut the engine off and stepped out, locking the doors with the key chain. Trevor lived on the first floor near the front, walking up the path he knocked on door 4D. In short order a rather gangly looking young with a head full of brown hair answered the door. Four inches taller than Alexander he was also about twenty-five pounds lighter. With dull blue eyes and a large nose set top a slender mouth he could easy put someone to mind of a scarecrow. The black tank top and tacky orange shorts didn't help either, often leading Alexander to wonder if his friend was color blind.

"Wondered when you were gonna show up bro," Trevor said. The two exchanged a fist bump as he walked in seeing his friend's apartment surprisingly clean. There was only a small scattering of electronics and dishware in the modest size room. While Alexander was looking around a slender young woman with long red hair and a pleasant face walked out of the hall leading to the bedroom wearing only a pair of blue jean shorts and halter top. Though he'd only seen her twice before Alexander knew the young woman as Angela. She'd dated Trevor some time ago but it never went anywhere and they eventually broke up, or so he thought.

"Hey Alex, what's going on?" Angela said, waving with a smile.

"Same stuff different day," Alexander said. He took a seat on the old brown leather sofa that was facing the apartment window to watch Trevor go through some frantic button pressing while playing some sort of shooting game on his wide screen plasma television. The noise alone was bothersome but Trevor seemed quite intent on killing everything in sight.

"I thought you broke up with Angie," Alexander said.

"Oh we're not together if that's what you mean," Trevor said. "Her ex-boyfriend kicked her out and with nowhere to go I let her shack up here for a while."

"She helping with the bills?" Alexander said.

"Yeah, she pays her share of the rent," Trevor said, then looked over with a wink. "Just not in cash if you know what I mean." To that Alexander just shook his head and continued watching the game for a time. The two had first met a decade ago when Alexander was only sixteen. Trevor, only nineteen at the time, had received a service call for a local fast food restaurant Alexander was working at that was having problems with their internet connection. He was dispatched for repairs which was how they first met. After striking up a conversation the two became fast friends. When Alexander turned eighteen it was Trevor that helped him get a driver's license and from there a job at the cable company. The two rode together while he was still in training and they'd remained friends ever since.

In truth Alexander never much cared for being a field technician but it payed the bills and was something he was good at. There was also not having a boss over his shoulder all day, so long as the orders were taken care of no one said anything. That was something else that troubled Alexander, as of late life in general seemed to lose its flair. Nothing caught his interest anymore, not activities, or friends, or dating. Trying to recapture some sort of interest he even tried a few extreme sports like rock climbing and bungee jumping, but nothing seemed to have that wow factor anymore. In truth Alexander was slipping deeper and deeper into a serious depression that he didn't know how to climb out of.

"Alphabet," Trevor said.

"What?" Alexander said.

"You know, that twenty-six letter thing you use to form words," Trevor said.

"You mean like bite me?" Alexander said. At this Trevor paused his game and set the controller down on the glass top coffee table in from of them.

"Dude, what's with you lately," Trevor said. "You've been a total buzz-kill, you alright?" While Trevor may have been a hardcore gamer that often tuned out the rest of the world, he always seemed to take notice of anything going on with Alexander. This was something that, at times, proved to be rather annoying. While they were friends Alexander still chose to keep much of his personal life, personal. Sharing thoughts and feelings on a level like that was something he rarely did even with Trevor.

"I'm fine," Alexander said.

"Yeah right, what's eating at you, spill," Trevor said.

"B-I-T-E M-E," Alexander said. When Trevor leaned over sinking his teeth into a shoulder Alexander about jumped over the back of the couch.

"Boy, I almost cashed in your dental plan," Alexander said.

"Then start talking, or do I have to turn the game off and straight up badger you into submission," Trevor said. At this Alexander gave him something of a dirty look. In the past Trevor had badgered to that point before and would make good on the threat. As annoying as he could be at times Alexander knew it was only because he cared.

"I'm bored with life," Alexander said.

"Bored with life, what the hell is that suppose to mean?" Trevor said.

"Just what it sounds like, I'm bored with everything. Reading books, going places, doing things, nothing peaks my interest anymore," Alexander said. There was a lot of truth to those words in that very little seemed to keep his interest anymore. Even things that had once been interesting no longer held any enjoyment. There was something missing in Alexander's life but he didn't know what it was, or where to go looking.

"You're not thinking about doing anything stupid are you?" Trevor said.

"Hardly, I'm just... bored. I wish I could find something fun to do," Alexander said.

"Like Angie?" Trevor said. Not a moment after saying that she walked over slapping Trevor on the shoulder. That actually drew a small snicker from Alexander, "Anyone ever tell you, you have the class of a cactus?"

"Repeatedly," Angie said, walking into the kitchen. After some more thought Alexander wondered if coming over here was a bad idea as he wasn't in a very social mood. In fact all he really wanted to do was be left alone to brood. Normally when something was eating at him this badly deep contemplation would eventually uncover the source of such feelings. This was a problem that had slowly built up over several years and until now Alexander hadn't told anyone about it. The loss of interest in life, everything turning to shades of gray in his mind, how nothing held interest anymore. It was strange for Alexander because he always seemed to be able to self-regulate problems and deal with emotions, yet no matter how hard this problem was struggled with it just wouldn't go away.

"I know, why don't we go grab a couple of cold ones at Joe's Place," Trevor said.

"Sure, why not," Alexander said. The two walked out with Trevor telling Angie that they would be back in a little while. Neither man approached their vehicles due to the run down red brick building across the street with a sign that read 'Joe's Place' over the front door. To the sound of a hinge that needed to be oiled the two walked in. Far from a high class establishment Joe's was the type of place you went to get away from the world in general. The smell of old beer clung to the gray haze of smoke gently obscured details. The dim lighting and sedated atmosphere gave the entire place the look of some mobster hangout from a low budget B-movie. Behind the bar was Joe, built like a barrel in a plaid green shirt and dark slacks the older man merely looked at the two new arrivals and grunted before going back to cleaning glasses.

"Two Budweisers, hold the lite my good barkeep," Trevor said, taking a seat at the bar. Joe took two long neck beers out of the cooler setting them down in front of the two. Once paid for Alexander twisted the top off of his beer and proceeded to drink the entire thing. It was at that point he let out a loud belch and held up a finger for Joe to bring another.

"Boy you are down in the dumps, I haven't seen you drink like this since your twenty first birthday," Trevor said.

"Yeah well my head's pretty screwed up right now. Maybe if I get wasted I'll figure out a way to unscrew it," Alexander said. Not normally the type to drink he did know that intoxication did lead to some rather unorthodox thinking patterns and was starting to wonder if that might help to solve this bothersome riddle. Instead of chugging the second beer it was sipped as Alexander looked around the bar. With the bottle to held up to both lips he stopped at the sight of a woman at a table not too far away. It wasn't her figure, the black three-piece woman's suit, or even the attractive facial feature that drew Alexander's attention. It was the complete lack of hair, the woman was as bald as they came. What's more is that she was staring at him. When their eyes met she smiled and waved and the gesture was returned with a raised eyebrow instead.

Not sure how to react to such a sight Alexander turned around to face the bar. There were only about twenty people in the establishment which would change as evening began to set in. Joe's Place did have its weekend regulars. Another thing that Alexander appreciated was Joe's zero tolerance for bar fights. While the portly older man may not have appeared intimidating, both had witnessed him handling troublemakers much larger in times past. When drinking like this Alexander and Trevor didn't talk much. They usually just sat back sipping beers and enjoying the relaxing atmosphere.

This time it was different, almost like a laser drilling through the back of his skull Alexander felt as if he were being watched. Twice he looked back to see the same woman staring at him, only now with her head propped on a hand. It was one thing to be watched, but another altogether to know you're being watched. After a few minutes it was starting to irritate Alexander considerably. Being rude wasn't in his nature unless extremely angry, so a different approach was taken. Sliding off the bar stool Alexander walked over to the table where the woman was and helped himself to a seat.

"Hi there," Alexander said. "Name's Alexander, couldn't help feeling the back of my head burst into flames."

The woman chuckled lightly, "Hello, my name's Selina and I couldn't help noticing your aura."

"Uh yeah, my aura," Alexander said.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about do you," Selina said.

"Aura, an energy field generated by living creatures that surrounds the body. I'm familiar with metaphysics, just never put much stock into it personally," Alexander said. The woman seemed to have a subtle charm. Her deep brown eyes and broad smile were very inviting, yet something was also very different. While Alexander couldn't put his finger on what it was, it was more than just the lack of hair.

"So did you just get bored and decide to shave your head?" Alexander said.

At this Trevor about snorked his beer and looked back, "And you call me a cactus?"

"I'm just being blunt," Alexander said. The question didn't seem to offend the woman, instead she looked him over without any attempt to hide it.

"I shaved my head because I wanted people to be interested in me for who I am, not the way I look. And what's you're story, bleach?" Selina said. That drew a small smirk from him. If anything Alexander appreciated people who were equally blunt so long as they weren't rude. While he'd never had any testing done to confirm the reason for being born with solid white hair, several doctors had stated the most likely cause was in lacking a gene for hair color. It was considered a genetic defect but was both minor and harmless.

"Born this way actually," Alexander said.

"So, one different by choice, another by birth, how... fascinating," Selina said. "So is all your hair white?" This caused Alexander to stop in mid-sip and lower his beer looking at the woman for a moment. It was rare to come across someone a woman so blatant in her questioning. Then there was the fact that it could also be taken as a personal advance. That sparked interest on his part because sex was one of the few things that Alexander still derived pleasure from, even if it was just purely physical. There were several ideas going through his mind at the moment including that aside from not having any hair, Selina was attractive. Her face was slender and oval shaped with gentle cheekbones, and a small nose set above wide, generous lips.

"That's one question you'll have to find out for yourself," Alexander said.

"So should I drive?" Selina said.

Alexander looked over holding up the now empty beer, "I don't D&D." As the two stood up to leave he smiled and waved to Trevor who gave him a thumbs up.

Roughly Two Hours Later...

In bed next to Selina he looked up at the ceiling letting out a satisfied sigh. While the drive to her apartment involved a lot of metaphysical discussion, once inside they about attacked one another and there wasn't much conversation involved. Despite having just met Alexander liked the woman laying next to him. Selina was rather straight forward in her approach and didn't bandy words.

"Enjoy yourself," Selina said, tracing a finger over his chest.

"Definitely, you?" Alexander said.

"Mmmhmm, if I may ask though, how long has it been since you were with anyone?" Selina said. That drew something of an odd expression from Alexander as it wasn't a question he was normally asked.

"Only a few months, why? Does it show?" Alexander said.

Selina only chuckled, "No, you just seemed to have a lot of pent up energy."

"Frustration more like," Alexander said. At this Selina sat up in bed scooting closer. This again drew an odd look from Alexander because he didn't mind cuddling afterward, but it usually required knowing someone for more than two hours first. She settled in taking one of his hands and looking over the palm. At first she said nothing, instead tracing a finger slowly over it with considerable interest. This raised Alexander's curiosity as he had no idea what she was doing.

"Is my hand really that interesting," Alexander said.

"You would be surprised how much of a person's life, both past and future, are written upon their body," Selina said. Alexander finally realized what she was doing, reading his palm. It was little more than an amusing game to him as fortune telling and other such things were considered to be little more than superstitious hogwash. While Alexander had studied metaphysics in the past he was the type of person who put more stock into what could be perceived through the five sense than spiritual guesswork.

"And what does my palm say," Alexander said.

"That you've known much pain and suffering in your life," Selina said. That only drew a presumptuous chuckle from him at such a vague answer.

"You've spent much of your life struggling against the world but now you've lost your way. You seek something to fill the void in your heart yet you know not what," Selina said.

That brought an almost shocked look to Alexander's face as she described the last few years of his life with considerable accuracy, and he'd never told her about any of this. In his late teens there was still a lot of desire to seek out new things and explore the world, but that desire eventually faded along with a lot of his emotions. Now everything was little more than a novelty that gave him no enjoyment. There was nothing to stir his passion or make him feel alive.

"What... what else do you see?" Alexander said.

"That your fight is not yet over, in fact it's just beginning. You are destined to walk a path in life that few others ever get the chance to. But, in doing so you will know pain and suffering unlike anything you have ever experienced," Selina said.

"Okay, first of all I don't believe in destiny, I make my own path in life. Secondly that's not exactly a description that makes me want to run right out and find this path," Alexander said.

Selina only smiled up at him, "You will know pain and suffering yes, but you will also know passion, desire, and your name will burn so brightly that in time this life will seem as little more than a dim faded memory... of what once was."

There wasn't much Alexander could say in response to something like that. While he had no idea what could possibly change his future so radically, that Selina had so accurately described parts of his past it gave pause to wonder. Was there any truth to what was said, or was this just more mystic mumbo-jumbo? To have passion and desire was something that Alexander wanted desperately, yet there was also a part of his mind, the logical side, that kept him from fully believing in something like this. In order to keep from over thinking the matter he decided to change the subject and took Selina's hand in his.

"Well I've never been much of a palm reader, but even I can see your future here," Alexander said.

"Oh, and what's that?" Selina said, smiling playfully.

"Round two," Alexander said. Rolling over he bite Selina on the neck resulting in a surprised yelp.

The Next Morning...

Because Alexander left his vehicle at Trevor's the previous night, Selina allowed him to stay at her apartment. The next morning he picked the car up and drove straight home, after a quick breakfast followed by changing into a light blue jumpsuit he went to work. Sycamore Cable was a small local company with less than two-hundred employees. The single story red brick building was a familiar sight as he approached the fenced off rear parking lot. Here there were a number of identical white work vans all bearing the words Sycamore Cable Company in red over top an image tree of their namesake tree. At the gate Alexander removed a work identification card and slid it through the kiosk which housed a card reader. To the sound of a small buzz the automated gate opened.

At the very back of the lot he parked the car along side a number of other personal employee vehicles. It was easy to see that Trevor wasn't here yet which was no surprise, the man was constantly cutting it close when it came to arriving on time. With no windows around back the only entrance was an old metal door with another card reader next to it and Alexander repeated the same process from before. Inside he was greeted by a cacophony of ringing phones, talking people and whirring office machinery. Hearing this every morning for the past eight years it was little more than background noise. Most of the floor was divided into office cubicles with chest high walls that were screwed together. Those with positions of authority had offices and Alexander passed several of them on his way to one in particular after quickly swiping the card through the time clock on the wall.

The door stood open as a young Hispanic woman with long black hair sat behind an office desk wearing a headset. She was busily typing at a computer while talking to a field technician and smiled at Alexander's approach. This was a routine the two went through every morning for years. Without a word she reached into a desk drawer placing a small electronic pad on the desk with several work orders. Alexander took the pad with a small with a two finger salute and walked out while reading it over casually.

"Yo bro, what's going on?" Trevor said, passing Alexander in the hall.

"Another day another dollar," Alexander said.

"So have fun with that bald babe?" Trevor said.

Never one to kiss and tell Alexander looked at his friend with a mildly annoyed expression and continued toward the parking lot. Trevor only laughed and slapped him on the shoulder knowing what sort of response he would get. Outside he walked to a van parked in the same spot that it always was and opened the door tossing the pad into the passenger seat. The van roared to life without a fight and Alexander pulled out of the parking lot with the address to the first job already dedicated to memory. Morning traffic in the city was the same as it always was, slow, loud and filled with angry drivers. Only two blocks later Alexander came to a stop as traffic quickly became congested. Knowing full well how long this could take he removed a large hardback book off the dashboard and turned to a page held by the bookmark.

As the other cars moved forward inch by inch he looked up every so often to keep pace. The book in hand was about the various monarchs and royal families of medieval England. History was one of Alexander's favorite subjects and something he avidly consumed. With the brutality of politics and how some monarchs were forced out of power not long after the crown settled on their head, he often wondered how the country ever achieved stability. For nearly an hour he inched through traffic until things picked up enough to allow actual driving. Even now things remained congested requiring another half hour just to reach the first address. In front of one of the city's school Alexander pulled to a stop shutting off the engine.

Another point of curiosity was how the company managed to secure business from one of the local schools. Things like this were often handled by much larger companies and it was only a year ago that Sycamore grew large enough to start offering internet services of their own. In retrospect Alexander didn't much care, it was just another service call to him. The large two story building was adorned by numerous windows along the front and neatly manicured lawns. Children were still moving about in large groups as they were between classes. From the back of the truck he removed a tool belt, strapped it around the waist and walked toward the front door. Just inside the main hall there were two security guards standing by a metal detector that stopped Alexander as he approached.

The photo identification from work was provided and one of the guards called the office to verify that he was on official business. Once everything came back clear he was given directions to the basement where the main service box was located, and allowed to side step the metal detector due to the tools being carried. The white linoleum halls were lined with lockers and a wide variety of posters as the children, seemingly oblivious to his presence, went about their day. Nearing his destination Alexander was about to reach for the door leading to the basement when a chubby boy with light skin, white shorts, and a matching t-shirt bumped into him.

"My bad," the boy said.

Before getting more than two steps away Alexander grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled back. He took a screwdriver from the boy's hand and placed back in the tool belt from which it had been lifted. Heading down a set of cement stairs Alexander flipped the light switch on the wall but to no avail, their was either a short in the wiring or the bulb was blown. This posed little problem as he removed a large flashlight from the tool belt and with a small click, pierced the darkness with a bright cone of light. At the bottom of the stairs he noticed what appeared to be cement debris on the floor.

This was a curious turn of events and following the trail a few feet later he found the problem. The router box, which was normally mounted on the wall, was laying on the floor covered by more debris, the dozen odd wires leading out of the bottom were all severed. Kneeling down he picked the router up and looked it over. There didn't appear to be any sign of damage from tool marks or anything else of a suspicious nature. The wires had been torn rather than cut leading him to wonder exactly what happened. The answer to that question became apparent when the flashlight was shone against the far wall. Buried within it was a what appeared to be a large green pipe.

It was large enough for Alexander to walk inside without having to duck, though it raised many questions in his mind. First and foremost how did it get there, the debris alone spoke of it not being part of the original structure. Something this large would have required a lot of digging and machinery to move into place. This wasn't something that could have been achieved covertly. Naturally curious about where it lead Alexander walked inside shining the flashlight around, but oddly it was unable the penetrate the darkness. Several steps in the floor simply stopped and when he went to put a foot down it kept going. In a flail of arms and legs Alexander fell into the darkness briefly before slamming onto a hard stone floor with enough force to knock the wind out of him. A low groan escaped his mouth and in the process of trying to get up Alexander was knocked unconscious by a blow to the head from the falling flashlight.

An unknown amount of time later he slowly started to come around with a pounding headache being the first sensation experienced. Another groan issued forth as he sat up trying to collect what scattered thoughts remained. Falling into a sewer wasn't the highlight of Alexander's day and reaching for the flashlight he noticed something that was out of place, the surroundings. The large square room appeared to be made of stone and mortar but what was more interesting was the large pink canopy bed next to him. Further inspection revealed a nightstand with a mirror and a considerable amount of make-up and perfume. The walls were covered with posters of what looked like anthromorphic turtles and several dresses tossed in the floor.

Alexander suddenly had the sinking feeling he was in a woman's bedroom and wasn't eager to find out who would live in a sewer like this. The only visible exit aside from the door was a shuttered window. Curious to find out exactly where he was Alexander walked over opening it carefully and felt his heart drop. There was no sewer, no tunnel, or anything even remotely close to what he expected to see. Outside the window was the view of a massive castle protected by a curtain large curtain wall, a moat of molten lava and beyond that a major metropolitan city with bright lights and buildings of all shapes and sizes. The land beyond appeared to be a parched wasteland covered by a sky of impenetrable dark clouds through which loud rumbles of thunder issued from time to time.

"Alexander my boy, I do believe you are over the rainbow," Alexander said.

To the sound of an opening door he looked back to see something walk in that was so far beyond what his mind could compute there simply was no reaction. It appeared to be a female reptile covered in fine orange scales with a tan section running down the chest. Possessed of a visibly female figure her head was bald save for a pink bow with white dots and adorned by a necklace of red gemstones and gold hoop bracelets. With her face buried in a magazine it took a moment to notice Alexander standing there.

"Hi, my name's Alexander, I have no idea where I am or how I got here," Alexander said.

"Oh, my name's Wendy... WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BEDROOM?!" Wendy said.

When she reached back for something Alexander didn't even wait to see what it was. Like a bolt of greased lightning he ran out of the room knocking Wendy over in the process and quickly exited the long hallway. In the circular room beyond there were seven additional hallways with one exit which was guarded by two rather large and muscular hammer brothers. Now in fight or flight mode Alexander ran down another hallway only to come face to face with Ludwig who was coming to see what all the commotion was about. Doing a quick one-eighty he ran back out into the main room, now trapped as all eight Koopa children came out of their rooms. In a state or near panic that all changed when Wendy looked to the two guards and snapped her fingers, "Kill him."

With flight no longer being an option and realizing his life was in very real danger Alexander reverted to fight. The two hammer brother guards drew hammers from their shells and charged in to carry out the princess' orders. When the first one raised his arm to strike Alexander slammed his fist into its beak snapping the head back and nearly breaking a knuckle in the process.

"Son of a..." Alexander said, waving his hand. The blow was enough to stop the turtle momentarily but little more. The second swung with a vertical attack and he leaned to one side out of the way. About to counter-attack the hammer brother drew his arm back slamming an elbow into Alexander's chest knocking him to the floor. The hammer then came down spitting chunks of stone from the floor as he rolled to one side before rising. Again his attempt to attack was interrupted when the first hammer brother connected with a shoulder to the chest sending him to the floor once more.

"Okay, now you're just pissing me off," Alexander said. When the first hammer brother grabbed a leg he used the other to plant boot to face. With an audible grunt the hammer brother let go and staggered back. Alexander evaded another hammer swing by kicking both legs up and rolling back into a kneeling position. As the second hammer brother was recovering from the attack he came up with a side kick to the head knocking the guard to the floor. The first came at him with a series of rapid swings which were evaded through ducking, dodging and weaving. Then as the arm came down for another attack Alexander kicked the bottom of its hand and struck the handle of the hammer causing it to fly up into the air.

The weapon was grabbed before hitting the floor and he caught the surprised hammer brother with a left, right blow to the head followed up and upward swing to the chin. The guard fell over backwards crashing to the floor in an unconscious heap and as the second began to rise it was struck down by a hammer throw directly to the face. Now with both unconscious Alexander looked to the Koopa children holding both arms out, "Next."

To the sound of a door opening and closing behind him, all of them held a hand up pointing. Alexander turned around coming face to chest with a large set of pectoral muscles and following the figure up saw Bowser staring at him. Over a head taller, more than one-hundred pounds heavier and nearly all muscle, this was without a doubt the largest creature he'd ever seen.

"Intruder," Wendy said.

The last thing Alexander remember after that was one of Bowser's arms moving and feeling as if he'd been struck by a tree trunk before colliding with a wall.


	2. Chapter II

For the second time since arriving in this strange new place Alexander regained consciousness to the sensation of a pounding headache. The dim lighting and strange smells told of a different location but at first he didn't know where. On a thin cot bolted to the wall there was a single blanket and pillow in the small eight by eight room. In the far corner was a steel toilet which was the only other thing in the room aside from the steel bars. With a defeated sigh Alexander sat up realizing he was in a jail cell but nothing made sense. One minute he was on a service call to a local school, the next he was being attacked by these weird reptilian creatures. To top it all off his was dressed in a green jumpsuit, likely a prison outfit.

There was no way something like this could be under the city there was a sky filled with clouds, but how, where, Alexander's head was swimming with questions. It was also swimming with pain from nearly getting knocked off by Bowser. This was beyond anything he could have imagined and trying to deal with it was more than his mind could handle. On one hand it was impossible to deny everything that happened and on the other his mind just couldn't accept what it saw. A castle filled with strange creatures, an entire city beyond, it defied explanation. Going home didn't seem likely as being stuck in an eight by eight cell made just about anything impossible.

"I think I've finally gone and done it, I've lost my marbles," Alexander said.

"So you're finally awake," a male voice said. The voice came from the cell directly to Alexander's left and the first thought to go through his mind was trying to get some information.

"How long have I been out?" Alexander said, walking toward the wall.

"About a day," the voice said. Kneeling down Alexander rested his back against the wall trying to figure out exactly what to ask, he had no idea where to begin.

"My name's Alexander," Alexander said.

"Anthony, nice to meet you," Anthony said.

"Anthony, what's... what's going on, where the hell am I?" Alexander said. This was followed by a low chuckle that made him wonder exactly what was so funny. Nearly getting killed, then bludgeoned in the head, and finally winding up in jail wasn't his idea of humorous.

"You in the dungeon of Koopa Castle," Anthony said.

"No, I mean where am I?" Alexander said. "One minute I'm answering a service call at school, then I find this green pipe in a wall and the next thing I know these weird reptiles are attacking me."

After that Anthony took the time to explain to Alexander that he'd fallen through something called a warp pipe, a device that allowed for rapid transit all over a place called Mushroom World. There were even a few that lead to Earth. In Alexander's case he'd come across something called a random pipe. It was a rare event but every so often a warp pipe would appear at a random location and if someone happened to go through it they would also exit in another random location somewhere in Mushroom World. In his case it just so happened to exit into the bedroom of one Princess Wendy Koopa.

"Princess, then who was the reeeeeally big one that almost took my head off," Alexander said.

"Bowser Koopa, first among the Koopa people, titular head of the Royal House of Koopa, sovereign king and absolute ruler of the Dark Lands. That's his official title anyway," Anthony said.

It was still hard for Alexander to accept that he was on another world, but that at least made a little more sense. Regardless his nerves were still frayed and he had no idea what to do. Then something else even less comforting came to mind. If Alexander really had landed in the bedroom of a princess then he would likely be facing charges, trespassing on royal property was no doubt a serious crime. This could result in a lengthy jail sentence or worse depending on the laws of the lands.

"I really didn't commit any crime, at least not intentionally. What do you think my chances of getting out of this alive are?" Alexander said.

"Not as bad as you think, King Koopa can be heavy handed but he's also fair. If you are innocent, and from the sound of it you are a victim of circumstance, you may not be charged with anything," Anthony said.

That was the first bit of good news Alexander had received since arriving in the Dark Lands. The possibility of a fair shake in court meant that he might just be able to get back home soon and put all of this crazy business to rest. Regardless of what Anthony said his hands were still shaking, the sheer amount of shock being experienced right now was nearly overwhelming. It was taking all of Alexander's willpower not to have a nervous breakdown. Trying to keep his mind occupied and change of subject took place with asking exactly where Mushroom World was in relation to Earth. According to Anthony, from an astronomer's point of view, they were located in one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way galaxy that was opposite Earth. Now knowing that he was clear across the galaxy did little to alleviate the stress.

"So tell me, are you human?" Alexander said.

"Me? No, I'm a Koopa Turtle," Anthony said. "Here, see for yourself."

Nearing the edge of the cell Alexander saw a hand covered in yellow scales holding a small mirror showing the reflection of an old turtle. This made the third reptilian species that he'd come across since arriving here. Still trying to find something to occupy his thoughts Alexander starting to ask questions about the three species. From what he learned the Koopa, Turtles, and Hammer Brothers all evolved from the same progenitor species which died out around ten-million years ago. Because of this they were all evolutionary cousins after a fashion and capable of interbreeding. It was fascinating for Alexander to learn that there were dozens of sentient species in Mushroom World unlike Earth where there were only humans.

It was talking with Anthony that he learned a lot of other information such as how the Dark Lands had often been at war with their neighbor to the south, the Mushroom Kingdom. Here the primary form of government was a monarchy and while there were quite a few, the Dark Lands, Mushroom Kingdom, Bean Bean Kingdom, and Sarasaland comprised the four major political powers. To at least have a vague idea of what was going on did help to put Alexander's mind at ease. From what Anthony told him along with learning about this new world, it gave his mind enough information to start considering various ideas and possibilities. The thought of attempting to escape came to the fore only to be discarded. Alexander knew nothing about the castle layout or where to possibly go if he did manage to escape. The only option at the moment was to work within the system and hope that Bowser was as fair as he'd been told.

What was driving Alexander up the wall at the moment was the waiting, the intolerable waiting. Time seemed to drag with no end in sight so for the first day Alexander tired himself out with isometric exercises. Dinner was served consisting of a something that resembled meat, a side of corn, plain bread with a bottle of water and a plastic spork. The meal was eaten in silence and with nothing else to do Alexander decided to call it a night. The entire situation was depressing and he already regretted stepping through that pipe in the first. There was also the slim hope that this was all somehow one big bad dream from which he would wake up.

That hope came to a crashing end the next morning when Alexander found himself in the same cot, awoken by a commotion in the jail. Many of the prisoners we clamoring in their cells for some reason. Rubbing his eyes in an effort to chase away the last vestiges of sleep Alexander woke up. Not long afterward a turtle jailor with a keyring on his side walked in front of the cell flanked by two large Hammer Brothers.

"This one looks able bodied. You want out of your cell for a while human?" the Jailor said.

"Doing what?" Alexander said.

"Working the mines, they need warm bodies to make up for a labor shortage," the Jailor said. Hard manual labor didn't bother Alexander, physical exertion was something he appreciated. It was good for the body and kept the mind occupied. In response to the question he nodded and the Jailor used the keys to open the cell door nodding his head to the left. There were a few pops and cracks as Alexander stood up and stretched, then as he walked out there was a line of prisoners all chained by the hands and feet with a third chain connecting them all at the ankle. It didn't take long for one of the Hammer Brothers to do the same to him and in short order they were all being lead out of the dungeon. There were Hammer Brothers, Turtles, a few other species not recognized, but what Alexander noticed most of all is that he was the only human here. As the group was lead up a set of long spiral stairs the heat increased to the point of sweating, oddly he seemed to be the only one having this problem.

It was also at this point Alexander realized trying to escape would have been a fool's errand as they were lead through several winding halls and passages that were almost identical in design. A few minutes later they exited into the courtyard where a white bus was waiting with the words Dark Lands Judicial Correction Services painted on the side in black. This was quite a change for Alexander as back on Earth the only legal entanglements he'd ever incurred was an occasional traffic violation. The chain that linked all of the prisoners together was removed as they were loaded onto the bus.

As with most prison transports there were a variety of foul smells that Alexander couldn't or didn't want to identify. The back of the bus was separated by a thick metal mesh with a single door and once the prisoners were all seated it was locked. The bus pulled out of the courtyard giving the first good look at the Dark Lands. It was a desolate wasteland were only the toughest weeds and occasional bit of shrubbery were able to eek out a meager existence. The dark clouds that covered the sky made it almost impossible to tell what time of day it was. In the distance Alexander saw a range of mountains that stretched as far as the eye could to see either direction. Many of them also appeared to be active volcanoes that regularly belched clouds of ash and long rivers of molten lava which explained a lot about the current condition of the kingdom. The air also carried the faint smell of ash.

How anyone could survive here let alone build an entire kingdom Alexander couldn't begin to imagine. It took almost two hours to reach their destination which was a mine in the side of one of the mountains that had a twenty-foot fence blocking the front two rows deep. Topped by rather vicious looking razor wire there were signs identifying the location to Prison Mine Seven as well as warnings about the lethal levels of electricity running through it. The bus came to a stop and the prisoners were allowed to leave. Stepping out Alexander looked around to see the mine was comprised of four large levels cut into the shape of massive half circle steps, each level further back than the last. There were dozens of mine shafts along with tracks along which carts were pushed. There also appeared to be small powered elevator platforms bolted to the wall on the first three levels to allow both worker and cart to move up and down

The ground level was set with numerous tables where workers were chiseling what appeared appeared to be precious gems out of chunks of rock. Off to the right side of the mine were the administrative offices. Here one could see a packing and shipping area for finished products along with a tool shed and the foreman's office. Everyone here was wearing the same green jumpsuit indicating they were prisoners all. The group was lead toward the foreman's office as a large older looking turtle walked out with a hard expression on his face. He spoke to a Hammer Brother who'd followed him out in a language that Alexander didn't recognize and motioned the prisoners toward the tool shed. There they were made to stand in a single file line while the Hammer Brother handed out either a hammer and chisel or a pickaxe along with a hardhat that had a light in the front. At the very end of the line Alexander waited for his turn being handed a hammer and chisel. He looked down at them for a moment then to the Hammer Brother.

"Can I get a pickaxe? I'd prefer something a little more physically demanding," Alexander said. Obviously not a request made very often a slightly confused Hammer Brother looked to the foreman who in turn shrugged indifferently. The hammer and chisel were replaced with a pickaxe and hardhat.

"Eshak Vret," the Hammer Brother said, looking down at a clipboard.

"I don't understand your language," Alexander said.

"Mine Seven," the Hammer Brother said. It wasn't hard to find mine seven, over each mineshaft was a metal plate affixed over the entrance that was painted white with number in black. As he walked toward mine seven Alexander wasn't too crazy about this type of work but it was true he liked to be physically active. This also got him out of that jail cell for a while so this was looked at as a cloud with a silver lining, however dim lining might be. Inside the mineshaft there was a track running through the center. Light was provided by means of electric lamps mounted to the wall with a single power cable connecting them all. Instead of jumping into his work right away Alexander watched the workers to see how the process went.

The various prisoners, most of whom had their green jumpsuits unzipped and pulled down to the waist, were hard at work digging away at the walls. Every so often when another worker pushed a mine cart along the track, those with piles of raw gemstones next to them would hold their pickaxe out blocking its path. The worker would stop long enough for the raw materials to be piled in then continue on. Now knowing what to do Alexander unzipped his jumpsuit pulling it down to the waist and pickaxe in hand he began to dig away. Rather wound up from being confined in a cell for so long he didn't overdo it and for the first four hours the work wasn't too bad. Finding a few gemstone veins of his own the work burnt up a lot of excess energy. Every hour they even wheeled out a water cart giving the workers two full cups and a mineral tablet to replace the body lost through sweating.

This gave Alexander more insight into the Koopa legal system than most would think. That the workers were given regular cups of water and mineral tablets spoke of a system that took the health and welfare of its prisoners into consideration. Around noon a loud whistle sounded and when the workers began leaving the mine he followed. They were all forming a single file line at a series of tables set up with food and drink making it obvious this was a lunch break. Having worked up a good appetite Alexander wasted no time getting in line.

The food handed out appeared to be two sandwiches, a bag of potato chips and some sort of colored drink. The line moved at a steady pace with the workers finding seats for themselves on the ground with many forming small groups from those obviously acquainted with each other. Almost at one of the tables there was a small commotion and looking back Alexander could see a turtle flanked on either side by two more pushing his way through the line, soon reaching his position.

"Outta my way smooth skin," the turtle said.

"Wait your turn," Alexander said. With barely enough time to turn around a pair of hands grabbed his waist. The next thing Alexander knew his was face down in the dirt a short distance away. It quickly became obvious to that the turtle was the local bully who liked to push people around and not something he was unfamiliar with. Having white hair as a child made Alexander a prime target to being picked on.

"Hey scale for brains, turn around," Alexander said, standing up. The turtle in question looked over at Alexander pointing to himself as if to make sure he were being addressed.

"That's right I'm talking to you," Alexander said. With an arrogant swagger to his step the turtle walked over to and looked up at him being about half a head shorter.

"Got a problem smooth skin?" the turtle said. The only response from Alexander was a left hook to the jaw that staggered him sideways. Having dealt with people like this for most of his childhood Alexander knew fists were the only language they understood. The two quickly began to exchange punches while trying to dodge or block and it didn't take long for a rough circle of prisoners to form around them yelling 'fight fight fight'. For his part the turtle seemed to be using professional boxing mixed with street fighting and didn't limit himself to punches alone. Alexander decided to switch tactics to the preferred style of fighting when facing a single opponent.

The turtle came in with a jab and only to have his wrist caught and twisted taking him to the ground with Alexander positioned on top following through with two punches to the face. He lost control after being clapped in the ears and jabbed in the throat. With a cough Alexander staggered back and took a deep breath before being kicked in the face and knocked prone. As he was getting up the turtle tried for another kick to the face only to be punched in the kneecap. Both combatants backed away, one waving an injured hand, the other hobbling slightly and cursing. It was also during this time that Alexander noticed the foreman was in the crowd of onlookers but made no move to stop the fight.

"Not bad for a human, haven't had a fight this good for a while," the turtle said.

"Oh I'm just getting started," Alexander said. The two continued to trade blows for the next five minutes until they were both battered and bloody. Now in considerable pain Alexander smirked holding out a hand and motioning the turtle forward. Despite the injuries he wasn't about to give up. The turtle was starting to get angry over having been injured and made the mistake of letting emotion get the better of him. Trying to dash in with a punch to the head Alexander caught his arm moving into a hip toss. The turtle hit the ground shell first and after three more solid blows to the face, finally stopped moving. With the fight now over the rest of the prisoners started to break up heading for the lunch tables once more. For his part Alexander was sitting on the ground breathing heavily as the amount of injuries he sustained made it hard to move. The foreman motioned to the two of them and a trio of guards approached. Two of them carried the turtle as the third helped him stand up.

"Where are going?" Alexander said.

"The infirmary," the Guard said. Both of them were taking to the infirmary behind the foreman's office and lead into a room with a dozen beds against both walls and a wide array of medical equipment. Near the back of the room was a young woman wearing a large white hat with red dots who sat behind a wooden desk. There were also eight turtles guards spread throughout the room. The desk was piled with paperwork and she looked up upon their entrance. When the young woman stepped down Alexander was surprised to see how short she was, barely coming up to his waist. She cut a loud whistle and two more turtles along with a Hammer Sister came out of a back room.

Both were placed on the nearest bed with Alexander laying down in order to relax. The Mushroom Woman used a small step ladder to stand next to Alexander pulling what appeared to be a wand from behind her back and began to move it over his body.

"My name is Doctor Cassandra Balfor but you can call me Sandy, everyone else does," Sandy said.

"Alexander, nice to meet you. Uh, what are you?" Alexander said.

"Pardon?" Sandy said.

"New arrival, never seen anyone like you before," Alexander said.

"Oh, my species are known as Mushroom People," Sandy said. One of the turtle guards in the room positioned himself on the other side of the bed next to Alexander while a second did the same next to the unconscious prisoner. It was no surprise to him as prisoners were often violent and known to lash out at anyone they could. Their presence was merely a safety precaution.

"So you're a form of highly evolved sentient fungus?" Alexander said.

"Looks like there's a fungus amongus after all," Sandy said, giving him a cheerful smile. This world was turning out be stranger and stranger by the minute, first talking reptiles and now sentient fungus. Not even bothering to try and reason it out Alexander laid his head on the pillow letting the doctor do her work. All in all he found her moderately attractive. Long brown hair flowed down over her shoulder framing a slender face of tanned skin with pleasant but otherwise normal features devoid of any visible make-up. Clad in a strapless green dress and red vest he noticed those two colors seemed quite popular, but reasoned it was because Bowser was also colored in a similar fashion in terms of skin and hair.

"You don't seen to have any serious injuries, shouldn't take too long to heal a few bumps and bruises," Sandy said, taking a few minutes to hook him up to one of the monitors that tracked blood pressure, pulse, and blood oxygenation. The part that came next drew his full attention. The doctor held the wand over a bruise on the chest and as he watched the tip began to glow. Alexander's chest was overtaken by a sensation of warmth and before his very eyes the bruise slowly faded away.

"How did you do that?" Alexander said.

"Healing magic," Sandy said.

"There's no such thing as magic," Alexander said.

"Oh really?" Sandy said.

"Yes really, magic is nothing more than a term applied to a process or procedure that isn't fully understood. Once it is magic becomes science," Alexander said.

"An astute observation and correct as well. The term magic is just a hold over from and earlier age when people relied more on mysticism than science. In modern times the technical name is Energy Science," Sandy said. That made more sense to Alexander even though he still didn't understand how this so called 'magic' worked. Over the course of the next ten minutes he watched the doctor carefully tend each wound and even asked if there was anything that might have been missed. Once everything was in working order again he sat up on the side of the bed almost overcome by a feeling of fatigue. This was followed in short order by a loud stomach growl.

"Is that normal?" Alexander said.

"Sure is, healing magic works on the principle of accelerating the body's natural rate of cellular mitosis to promote rapid healing. It also burns up a lot of your body's energy reserves," Sandy said. By now the turtle was awake as well and once the two of them were cleared for release they returned to work. Because of missing lunch both were given ten minutes to inhale along with two more mineral tablets before being sent back to the mines. For the rest of the day Alexander worked in the mine. During that time through talking with some of the other prisoners in the mine he learned Scar was the name the turtle went by, fitting as he had three on the face alone. Scar was a career criminal with a life sentence who had barely managed to avoid being executed after killing an Enforcer, the Dark Lands equivalent of a police officer. This was achieved by turning kingdom's evidence against his accomplices. They were also impressed that Alexander manage to beat him in a fight.

The work detail ended after another six hours with all of the prisoners loaded onto a bus and transported back to the castle's dungeon. Inside his cell Alexander sat against the wall thinking to himself that the work wasn't so bad. It was physically demanding but for him that was the enjoyable part. Because of the healing magic used Alexander was quite tired and after dinner he laid down and passed out. For the next week he continued to work in the mines on a volunteer basis also learning that prisoners were allowed a shower, a shave, and a fresh jumpsuit every other day. From that point on there were no other problem from Scar either. The two were by no means friends but the turtle seemed to make it a point of picking a line Alexander wasn't standing in to barge through.

"Alexander Magnus," the Jailor said. The sound of the turtle's voice woke him the next morning and looking up from the pillow through sleep weary eyes the only response was a grunt.

"Rise and shine, you've been summoned by his majesty to appear in court," the Jailor said. Now wide awake Alexander sat up quickly and was lead out of the cell. Before being brought in front of Bowser he was allowed to freshen up and given a clean jumpsuit to wear. Both arms and legs were chained again and while being lead through the castle nervousness once again started to set in. This was the moment he'd been waiting for, being brought before the king to face what would no doubt be serious charges. After being lead through several different hallways into the heart of the castle Alexander and his Hammer Brother escorts walked into the main keep from a side hall. The heat was sweltering the entire way and here there were a lot of functionaries moving about dressed in a variety of fancy robes.

To the left the room ended in a set of large wooden double doors that stood open. Inside was the throne room, a long rectangular room with a red carpet trimmed in gold that leading up to a half circle dais with five steps set into the back wall. Atop the dais Bowser himself sat upon a throne of silk and gold set with many precious gems. On either side of the carpet there were a number of beings dressed in rich clothing that spoke of important positions within society. As they approached the throne room Alexander could see the main keep was lined with alcoves in which statues of solid gold stood representing various past rulers. At the very end was Bowser's which was considerably larger than the others. This lead Alexander to believe it was meant to signify the current ruler or a sign of considerable ego. Inside the court room another prisoner, a Hammer Brother, was standing before Bowser. As they approached he was able to hear the end of the conversation.

"...appeal has been reviewed by the throne and we find the new evidence insufficient to set aside the verdict as passed down by the high court. Your execution will take place on the appointed date. Dismissed," Bowser said, with a wave of his hand.

As the prisoner was lead out by a pair of turtle guards Alexander swallowed hard realizing the Dark Lands did have capital punishment. There was a voice in the back of his head that said his actions likely wouldn't warrant such but without a better understanding of the current laws there was no way be entirely sure. All three came to a stop in the middle of the courtroom and without having to be instructed to do so Alexander bowed on one knee, lowered his head and waited to be addressed. Ludwig and Roy stood to the right of the throne with Iggy and Wendy to the left.

"At least the ape knows some manners," Wendy muttered. Her comment was said just loud enough to be heard resulting in a few snickers from the audience.

"Ah yes, I remember you. The human discovered in my daughter's bedroom," Bowser said. Again Alexander said nothing as he'd not directly been asked a question. Because of his avid reading and love of history some royal protocols were known including bowing, not approaching a member of the royal family, and speaking only when spoken to.

"State your full name for the court," Ludwig said.

"Alexander Franklin Magnus," Alexander said.

"Mr. Magnus, in your own words explain for the court the course of events leading up to your arrival in my sister's bedroom," Iggy said. Now that speaking was expected Alexander rose and took a moment to collect his thoughts. At a time like this babbling or rambling, which he sometimes had a habit of doing when nervous, wasn't likely to go over well.

"It all started a about eight days ago on Earth. I was working for a company known as Sycamore Cable as a field technician. My first assignment that day was fix a problem with internet services of a local school. I drove to there and once inside I went to the basement where the router box was located. Once there I found it laying in a pile of debris having been knocked loose from the wall where it was mounted," Alexander said. Taking a moment to breath he looked around noticing a lot of the people in the courtroom seemed genuinely interested to hear his side of the story.

"In place of the wall there was a large green pipe the likes of which I'd never seen before. As it was big enough to walk inside, and not knowing what it was at the time, I chose to investigate. Not long after that I found myself in a bedroom with no knowledge of where I was or exactly how I got here. After that the princess arrived and I believe the court is aware of what happened next," Alexander said.

"Indeed we are," Bowser said.

"May I ask what I'm being charged with?" Alexander said.

"Nothing," Ludwig said. That drew a surprised look from Alexander along with some curious murmurs from the crowd of onlookers. After spending nearly a week in jail he was confused but also elated to hear that he wasn't being charged with a crime. The princess on the other hand was not only shocked, she was angry as well.

"May I ask why not?" Alexander said.

"Because after a lengthy review of the case we have gathered information not only on your residence on Earth, but also confirmed you are indeed an employee of a company known as Sycamore Cable. My son Prince Ludwig conducted a lengthy analysis of the princess' bedroom and confirmed there was evidence supporting the appearance of an unstable warp aperture. In short, the evidence supports your story," Bowser said.

"What, you can't be serious!" Wendy said. "You're just going to let him go? He put two of the royal guard in the infirmary."

"Only after you ordered them to kill him. It was an act of self defense," Bowser said, looking at her. Wendy started to say something else only to have Bowser hold up a hand and fall silent. That little exchange told Alexander that Bowser was not a king to be trifled with. Even his own children shut up when told to.

"Because your appearance in the bedroom of Princess Wendy Koopa has been determined to be the result of unusual circumstances rather than conscious intent, as well as the attack on two members of the royal guard being acts of self defense, you are hereby found innocent of any criminal charges. You will be released from custody and escorted out of the castle. If you wish to return to Earth you will be provided with a transit pass free of charge. If you wish to remain in the Dark Lands the throne has no objection, however you will be required to file a petition with the Bureau of Immigration," Bowser said.

Bowser was about to dismiss Alexander when Ludwig leaned down whispering something into his father's ear. At first it took a moment for whatever was said to register, then the king looked over furrowing both brows curiously. There was a short but hushed exchange between the two and what snippets of conversation Alexander could overhear couldn't be understood. Whatever language they were speaking he'd never heard before. Bowser took a moment to think then carefully nodded, as he did Ludwig stepped forward to speak. "Upon your arrival in the castle we did partake of combat with two members of the guard royal and in doing so bested them in combat. Not an easy task as they are the best the Koopa military has to offer. I would know where you acquired such combat prowess."

"The school of hard knocks. I've spent most of my life fighting," Alexander said.

"Ah yes, a most interesting educational establishment no doubt, however I would see these credentials for myself. Roy my good brother, would you like to do the honors?" Ludwig said. At this Alexander looked over at Roy with a wide eyed expression. The prince was easily a head taller than him, much larger, and almost all muscle.

"Do wut?" Roy said.

With a picture perfect face palm Ludwig pointed to Alexander, "Roy, bash."

"Oh yeah, heh, I got dis," Roy said. The prince stepped down from the dais as the crowd backed away to give both of them enough room to fight. Holding both fists up he started cracking the knuckles on both hands.

"You ready fo a butt whoppin' shrimp?" Roy said.

Alexander in turn leaned to one side and looked at Bowser holding his hands up. "Can I at least be unchained before the prince tries to turn me into a grease spot on the floor?"

The chains on both his hands and feet unlocked and feel to the floor with but a snap of Bowser's fingers and he barely had time to roll to one side to avoid a large right hook. Facing off against someone like this wasn't something Alexander was eager to do, but having faced larger opponents in the past and having no choice at the moment, a fight it would be. The prince swung hard but his attacks were slow and easy to avoid, after three more he was in position and delivered a powerful left hook as Roy drew back from a swing. The Koopa's head jerk to the side briefly and he stood up with a smirk.

"Not bad, I almost felt dat," Roy said. That gave Alexander reason for concern as he'd not held back with the blow and Roy seemed to just shrug it off. The prince continued to come at him with heavy swing which were avoided and two more power punches to the face were delivered with similar results. Backing away Alexander began to rethink his strategy realizing Roy was built like a brick with a skull that was obviously just as thick. He also learned that thick didn't mean unable to learn. The next time Alexander caught him with a left cross the prince recovered faster than before slamming fist to chest. The blow sent Alexander tumbling across the floor and he landed looking up at the ceiling. The pain was immense and he was having trouble breathing.

"Aw don't tell me yous outta gas already, I was jus getting' warmed up," Roy said.

"Nah, it'll take more than that to put me down for the count," Alexander said, slowly rising to his feet.

"Dat's da spirit," Roy said. A change of tactics was in order and instead of trying for heavy power attacks Alexander dodged, weaved, and used rapid jabs and hooks trying to wear his opponent down. At first a number of the attacks got through but had seemingly no effect and as Roy caught on he began defending more. Soon the tactic was about worn out and yielding no results aside from annoying the prince. Once more Alexander decided to try for a different approach.

"You know, when Ludwig first wanted me to fight you I was a little intimidated but not so much now," Alexander said.

"Oh yeah, and why's dat?" Roy said.

"Because you're not nearly as tough as you look. Sure you got in a good hit, but really, if that's all you got this is gonna be a short fight," Alexander said. This change of tactics would prove to be a mistake which would soon become apparent. The insult served its purpose of making Roy angry and in doing so he lashed out with a swing much faster than Alexander thought possible. The blow connected lifting him off the floor and a clear across the courtroom to impact against the wall next to the doors. Stunned by the blow Alexander was brought around by the sound of audibly heavy footfalls as Roy charge forward. There was barely enough time for him to roll out of the way before a large fist struck the wall hard enough spit chunks of rock into the air.

Suddenly realizing it a bad idea to piss Roy off, Alexander found himself completely on the defensive trying to avoid blows that could easily shatter bone while fighting through the pain of the last attack. Though he normally didn't use a wide array of kicks Alexander tried to halt the offensive by leaning back to avoid a claw swipe and kicked Roy in the face as hard as possible. This snapped his head back and the prince staggered to maintain balance. Slightly surprised by this Roy moved his jaw from side to side and spit two sharp teeth onto the floor in a small pool of blood. To see two of his own teeth on the floor only made Roy even angrier.

When Alexander took another step back it would seem that the prince retained enough mental clarity to think of an unusual fighting technique. The prince brought his foot down on Alexander's resulting in a loud crunch of breaking bones. This brought a yell from Alexander and before being able to react the prince grabbed his arm. Swung overhead and slammed to the floor the arm was broken in three different places. In complete shock from the pain Alexander didn't have time to move before another foot came down on his chest breaking multiple ribs. By now the fight was over as he was coughing blood onto the carpet and unable to move.

"Yous ready ta say uncle yet?" Roy said, picking him up by the back of his jumpsuit. The amount of pain coursing through Alexander's body would have been enough to render a lesser man unconscious, but he wasn't a lesser man. Using the one good arm left he reached up removing the sunglasses from Roy's face and broke them in a final act of defiance. This got him slammed to the floor and nearly stomped on a second time had Bowser not intervened ordering his son to stand down. Rising up on his good arm Alexander let out a loud gasp and rolled over. With a wheeze he started to grab at his chest frantically. Ludwig, having walked over to where he was laying by now, looked down arching an eyebrow.

"Oh dear, I do believe a displaced rib has punctured his lung," he said, motioning to a guard. "Do be a good fellow and summon an emergency medical team, we can't very well have him bleeding all over the carpet now can we?"

Alexander was quickly transported to the castle's medical wing by an emergency response team only this time he was anesthetized. With two ribs turned into complete gravel and another seven badly broken he had to undergo emergency surgery. The seven ribs were reset and healed after his lung was closed and re-inflated. The two that were shattered had to be completely removed with Alexander being hooked to a intravenous nutrient solution. This was to provide his body with enough energy for six different doctors to spend the next twenty-four hours using healing magic to regenerate the missing bone. Once fully healed Alexander spent the next sixteen hours asleep as his body recovered from the intense strain put on it.

Now almost two days after the fight with Roy he started to slowly regain consciousness. At first Alexander was confused and had trouble even forming a coherent thought. Once everything was sorted out mentally he let out a low groan, a deep breath, and looked down. Now in a white medical gown he was laid out on a bed and hooked up to a number on monitors that tracked various vital signs. His head flopped back down on the pillow and in doing so he noticed someone else was in the room. Off to the left Ludwig was leaning against the wall with his arms folded.

"I was beginning to wonder how long you would remain unconscious," Ludwig said.

"Go away, haven't you done enough damage already?" Alexander said.

"Oh no, that was merely a means by which to test my hypothesis," Ludwig said.

"What?" Alexander said, looking over at him.

"I have maintained close observation of you since your appearance because as I stated previously, you did best two of the guard royal in fair combat. There aren't many who can lay claim to such an honor. Then you bested a criminal known as Scar in the mines, not one known for being easily felled," Ludwig said. Although Alexander didn't know where the prince was going with this it was accompanied by a sinking feeling he wouldn't like it. The one thing he did know was that those in positions of authority and power within the political arena were constantly plotting and scheming. In this regard royalty were some of the worst.

"So?" Alexander said.

"So, it's been decided that prior to your departure a service is to be rendered to the throne," Ludwig said.

"Forget it, all I want to do is go home," Alexander said.

"I see, if you wish to tell father no then by all means I'll not stand in your way. Though my good brother Roy might acquire a few additional ideas once father is finished I would imagine," Ludwig said. The prince's last remark brought a slow eye roll from Alexander in his direction. After nearly being killed by Roy the last thing he wanted to do was fight someone even deadlier. While he was explaining the situation to Bowser before the fight Alexander had made eye contact with the king and quickly looked away, almost like a subconscious reaction. There was no doubt the king was the most dangerous thing in that courtroom, Alexander knew it, everyone else knew it, and Bowser knew it. There was an undeniable presence to the Koopa sovereign, one that spoke of intelligence, nobility, authority, but most importantly that he wouldn't hesitate to crush anyone who got in his way.

Alexander was extremely intimidated by him but it was more out of respect than fear. The way Bowser handled his court case proved he was fair and just. That brief moment of eye contact also allowed him to see a creature that had known immense violence in his life and wasn't afraid to use it against others.

"Alright fine, what do you want me to do?" Alexander said.

"For many years now there was two individuals who have proven themselves an unbearable thorn in father's side. The brothers Bartonelli, Mario and Luigi to be precise. The task set before you is to remove those thorns, permanently," Ludwig said.

"When you say permanently you mean..." Alexander said.

"Six feet under, dead as a doornail, pushing up daisies, whatever term you prefer will suffice," Ludwig said.

"Now hold on just a minute, first off I'm not an assassin. Secondly with all the resources at your disposal why send me?" Alexander said. None of this made any sense to him, why would a Koopa prince want him to go out and kill two people. While it was not something that was openly talked about most royal houses had assassins on their payroll for situations just like this. There were no doubt people in Mushroom World that specialized in thorn removal just like there were on Earth. While Alexander often approached situations with a logical mindset, even he couldn't follow the logic in this.

"Enlighten me, what do you hypothesize your odds of besting father in physical combat at?" Ludwig said.

"Pitiful," Alexander said.

"Mario Bartonelli champion of the Mushroom Kingdom, a human no less, has bested father in single combat on numerous occasions," Ludwig said.

"Okay, now this makes a little more sense. With my chances of beating King Koopa in a fight almost none existent you want me to kill someone even tougher. Yep, I completely follow the logic on that... NOT!" Alexander said.

"Calm your ire and I shall elaborate further. My desire to place you in combat against Roy was not merely for the purpose of entertainment, even though it was quite amusing to watch. As I previously stated it was a test. I believe that you possess an innate skill for the art of combat, and that with sufficient training and experience you will be able to bring about their end," Ludwig said.

"Look, I appreciate that you've got problems that need dealt with but I just want to go home," Alexander said.

"Accomplish the task given you and I care not where you go, now I would advise rest. Come tomorrow morning I will be assigning the first task in further your education," Ludwig said. This turn of events had Alexander so mad he could barely see straight. Wanting nothing more than to go home he was instead being tasked with killing enemies of the Dark Lands against his will. As Ludwig started to walk out of the room Alexander pulled the leads from the monitors loose and got up to have another little chat with him. No more than two steps later the prince pulled a golden wand studded with gemstones from his shell and spun around pointing the tip at Alexander's face. The two glared at one another for a time when the tip of the wand started to crackle with energy as a warning. Alexander backed up taking a seat on the bed but maintained eye contact the entire time.

**Note From The Author:** I know that according to Nintendo their given names are Mario Mario and Luigi Mario but frankly, it sounds stupid. It would be like me having the name Eric Eric. Therefore I chose to give them actual Italian surnames for this fan fiction.


	3. Chapter III

If there was one thing Wendy absolutely refused to do it was leave her bedroom in the morning without being presentable, anything less would be unfitting of a koopa princess. Wendy sat comfortably in a large oak chair set with the softest and most expensive red padding that money could buy, while a small cadre of female servants prepared her for the day. Kneeling on the floor a turtle was filing the claws on the princess' while another was tending to the claws on her hands. A mushroom woman dressed in a green and red outfit was applying makeup to Wendy's face while a hammer sister servant was holding up a small glass top display case so the princess could decide which set of gold hoop bracelets she wanted to wear. The entire ritual lasted for almost an hour before Wendy was finally 'presentable'.

Now that they were no longer needed the princess looked away from the servants and dismissed them with a casual wave of her hand. She also refused to speak the hired help beyond what was necessary as such was below the station of such a refined young lady, and the servant women knew better than to attempt idle banter. The only thing Wendy insisted on doing herself was the application of lipstick, her large luscious lips were something the young koopa was quite proud of, not even Princess Peach had such a lovely mouth.

There was quite a bit on the princess' schedule for today, after breakfast she would meet up with some of her friends for shopping at the finest establishment in the Dark Lands. After lunch they would visit the castle for a refreshing dip in royal pool, which was invitation only to anyone outside the royal family. Then they would no doubt spend the afternoon gossiping and watching soap operas. Wendy let out a small sigh thinking that there were times when it wasn't easy being a princess.

A slight stomach pang reminded Wendy that she was almost late for breakfast so the princess set out for the private dining hall where she always ate with the rest of the family. If Bowser's schedule allowed it he would be there as well, otherwise the king would be eating on the run while tending to kingdom business. It was slightly depressing to Wendy how little time her father often had for his own family. The royal residential wing was the second tallest tower in the castle, surpassed only by the one which housed Bowser's private bed chambers separately. The long set of winding stone stairs lead down into the main keep where Wendy was about to head for the dining room when something caught her attention.

It was the white haired human from last night, he was dressed in a strange black outfit with a pair of guards leading him somewhere. Wendy let out a disgusted grunt at the sight, knowing Ludwig was up to something. The machinations of her brother were something the princess rarely paid any attention to unless they resulted in conflicting interests, but this was just revolting. The human race was not one Wendy had much love for and to have one plodding around the castle was almost unbearable. Whatever Ludwig was up to she hoped that he would finish it soon so the human could be disposed of and the castle properly sanitized.

The sight of Alexander being lead into the royal dining room by the guards was almost enough to make her scream. It was bad enough having to put up with a human in the castle, but now Ludwig was prancing his new pet around like it was something to dress up and show off. After breakfast Wendy was definitely going to have words with her brother about this. The stress from this alone was enough to threaten to disrupt the princess' appetite, but she calmed herself with the thought that large meals were required to maintain such a womanly figure. That and the smell of food was too much to resist.

Inside the royal dining room there was a long table set with a dozen chairs on either side and a single larger one at the head of the table where Bowser was seated. That was a bright spot in Wendy's day, seeing her father. The princess only wished that she'd been born second instead of third. Seated according to birth order Ludwig sat to his father's right, Roy to the left, Wendy next to Ludwig, then it was Larry, Morton, Iggy, Lemmy, and Bowser Jr. To her utter disgust Alexander was seated across from Lemmy. What purpose her brother was playing at Wendy still didn't know.

The table was set with a complete banquet as it was each morning and the family always ate at precisely eight. There were platters heaped full of steak, hamburger, ham, sausage links, patties, bacon, beef jerky, large bowls filled with eggs, grits, pancakes, waffles, and just about anything else one could desire to eat. Normally the royal family didn't observe many table manners when eating privately and everyone was already digging in, laughing, eating, talking with their mouths full and having a good time. Wendy on the other hand had the servants bring her food, unwilling to show such crassness in the presence of a human. The only other exception to this was Bowser who wasn't much for conversation in the first place, he ate quietly at the head of the table.

With an icy glare she watched Alexander who kept to himself eating a rather large meal of his own which consisted of oversized helpings of bacon. Pitching him into a pool of molten lava, chain chomp food, a skydive from the top of the castle without a parachute were all interesting ideas that came to mind as she watched Alexander. The rest of the royal family didn't seem to take notice of him at all until Wendy finally decided to have a little fun with her brother's pet.

"So is it true that all human mate in mass orgies like a bunch of wild animals?" Wendy said. That question immediately drew a glare from Ludwig who knew what she was up to. The chance to upset the both of them at the same time was enjoyable, Wendy liked seeing her puffed up brother get knocked down a peg or two.

"Only on alternate Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays after we've finished screwed everything else in sight. Gotta do something to take up all that free time," Alexander said. There was a long silence before the rest of the room burst out into hysterical laughter, even Bowser cracked a smile at the response which only further infuriated Wendy. He wasn't even taking her insult seriously.

"So where exactly did you get that tacky leather suit, a dumpster?" Wendy said.

"Actually I supplied the suit as I find casual attire to be anything but acceptable for one who serves me," Ludwig said.

"That's explains a lot," Wendy said, grumbling to herself.

"So how are you enjoying your stay in the Dark Lands?" Bowser said. To hear the king speak at a meal about something casual was rare so everyone immediately looked at Alexander.

"Gee let me think, I was attacked, imprisoned, attacked IN prison, tried like a criminal, and almost beaten to death by Prince Roy. Couldn't be having more fun if I KEELED OVER DEAD!" Alexander said.

"If you need any help in that regard..." Wendy said.

"Oh get in line princess," Alexander said. The sarcasm again brought a round of snickers from the her brothers and Wendy glared at him realizing the human had a sharp tongue. After the meal concluded the princess decided it was time to be a little more direct and waited for Alexander to walk out. In step behind him Wendy quickened her pace to close the distance.

"Hey primate," Wendy said.

"Oh for the love of..." Alexander said, turning around. "What now?"

Wand already in hand Wendy pointed it directly at his face, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blow your head off your shoulders."

"Because your head will follow presently if you choose this course of action," Ludwig said. Shifting her gaze Wendy looked behind Alexander to see her brother standing there wand in hand as well. As the human made a quick exit from the koopa sandwich the princess' anger shifted to her brother.

"I don't know what your game is Ludwig but I've had just about enough of you parading that animal around the castle like some sort of dressed up pet," Wendy said.

"Animal?" Alexander said, listening from a short distance to the side.

"Shut up," Wendy said, firing a blast of magical energy at him without even looking.

"What my 'game' may or may not be is of no concern to you. I was given dispensation by father to pursue this matter at my own discretion, and until instructed otherwise that is precisely what I shall do," Ludwig said. In no time the siblings were chest to chest with Ludwig, being a half a head taller, glaring down at Wendy. The two let out low growls at one another as hands tightened around wands and a conflict seemed inevitable. To the sound of fingers snapping both prince and princess quickly parted and bowed bringing the entire conversation to a sudden end. Wendy was all to familiar with her father's finger snap and knew how he disapproved of public displays of aggression between members of the royal family.

"This isn't over... dear brother," Wendy said.

"Indeed it is not... dear sister," Ludwig said.

'No matter what may lay between members of the royal family, in the eye of the public we must always be united. For any show of weakness will invite disaster.' Bowser's words echoed through Wendy's mind as she walked down the halls of the castle without a destination in mind. This was only one of many gems of wisdom Bowser had shared with her as a child. The entire situation was so infuriating that Wendy decided it was time for a diversion to take her mind off things, it was time to go shopping. If there was one thing the princess loved more than anything it was to take her Bank of Koopa platinum card and give Bowser a heart attack.

After collecting her purse Wendy went down into the lower levels of the castle to a secure area known as the pipe room. This room was the single largest convergence of warp pipes in Mushroom World and Koopa Castle was built over it for strategic purposes. It was also the most secure room in the castle as well. To the sound of high heels clicking against the stone floor Wendy walked down the hall to the pipe room nose stuck up in the air. There was only one entrance and one exit to bottleneck any attempted invasions and the hallway opened up into a large stone room the size of a football field where over 300 of the most highly trained Koopa soldiers maintained a watch at all times.

Everyone in the room took a knee as Wendy walked by and it was something the princess always enjoyed watching. On the other side of the room the hallway ended in a single door which one of the guards opened for the princess. Inside there were a collection of red, green, orange and yellow pipes on the floor, walls and ceiling. The destination to each and every pipe Wendy knew quite well, she'd used the pipe room for traveling around Mushroom World since she was a child. It was one of the fastest and most efficient means of transportation. There was a momentary darkness as Wendy dropped into a pipe and reappeared inside the capitol city of Bowseria at a heavily armed military base.

The secure room in which the pipe was located was protected by numerous heavily armed guards with many more in the barracks beyond. This little outing had been scheduled in advance so there was a black stretch limo waiting for Wendy outside complete with three female servants ready to wait on her hand and foot. The city outside the barracks was a jungle of concrete and steel with bright neon signs and lights turning the area into a kaleidoscope of colors. The Paparazzi weren't far behind causing Wendy to make a break for the limo amid the burst of multiple shutters and flashes.

"Stupid Paparazzi," Wendy said, settling into the seat. "Take me to Garanelli's."

The inside of the limo was closer to a small room with seats along all four walls, deep red carpet, and minibar filled with snacks and any sort of drink the princess might. With a snap of her fingers Wendy held out a hand and a turtle servant quickly mixed a dry martini with two olives. The drink was handed off and the princess sipped it while absentmindedly watching the buildings pass by. Garanelli's was a store so upscale a person had to make a reservation just to get in the front door, though Wendy could go any time she wanted even without notice because her father was the king. On this occasion the princess called ahead of time because she was bringing friends.

"Majesty," the hammer sister said. Wendy looked over to see the hammer sister, a rather lanky young woman with blond hair, holding out a small folded slip of paper. Not exactly sure what was going on she took the paper and unfolded it. There was a message written by Bowser stating that if she went over one-thousand gold on the shopping trip even by a single coin, he would cancel her credit cards. A small groan escaped Wendy's lips as she dropped the paper and went back to sipping the martini. It only took about twenty minutes to reach the destination. The store was a large gray, glass front building with two large double doors. In the windows there were a number on mannequins displaying the latest fashions in the Dark Lands.

In the parking lot there were also two other limos where a young turtle and goomba woman were standing outside laughing and talking. The turtle was Lydia Karn, the only daughter of Duke Alister Karn, ruler of the city of Turtopolis and one of the most influential nobles in the land. The goomba was Barbara 'Babs' Faust, eldest daughter of Marquis Gailyn Faust, ruler of Goombaria and a noble of moderate influence. Wendy knew the two of them were complete suck-ups but she still liked the attention. The limo came to a stop and upon her exit from the vehicle both young women immediately ran up to her.

"Wendy darling, how wonderful to see you again," Lydia said.

"Alright, let's get this party started," Babs said. With both girls, and servants in tow, Wendy walked to the front door of Garanelli's. The princess didn't even bother to ring the bell, she just stood there looking as pompous and important as possible. It didn't take long for a tall human with large glasses and balding gray hair to come walking up dressed in a black tuxedo. The man politely opened the door for Wendy.

"Princess Wendy, it's always an honor to be of service to the House of Koopa," the man said.

"Of course it is," Wendy said, sauntering into the building. As the three young women walked into the brightly lit white interior, Wendy looked around the store at the wide variety of expensive dresses and other garments on display. She immediately noticed something out of the ordinary... the other two women were silent. Normally trying to get Babs to shut up was like asking the sun not to rise the next day, the goomba was a complete chatter box. Even Lydia would sometimes run off at the mouth when she was talking about shopping.

Annoyed by the silence Wendy spun on her high heel to see the two of them looking at her with anticipation, "Alright you two, out with it."

"Oh my stars, is the rumor about a human in court true?" Babs said.

"Like totally, Brenda called me this morning saying something about Prince Ludwig, like, having a new pet or something," Lydia said.

"Someone said he broke into the castle and ransacked your room," Babs said.

"Yeah, I heard he, like, tried to have his way with you," Lydia said. That caused Wendy to let out a low growl as it would seem that even here she couldn't get away from Alexander, or at least mention of his name. The visible display of anger also shut the two women up rather quickly.

"First of all that insipid ape didn't lay a finger on my otherwise I would have ripped his balls off and fed them to him. Second, he didn't break in, castle security is not lax, he was spit out by a random pipe. Third, yes my brother has a new pet though I cannot begin to fathom what he's playing at," Wendy said. "Now can we forget about the smooth skin for five minutes and do some shopping?"

The two women nodded and with the mention of Alexander out of the way the shopping trip was in full swing once more. After browsing the clothing Wendy decided she wasn't in the mood for anything cloth and when the princess didn't pick out anything the other two followed suit.

"Did you hear about Tabby at last week's party?" Babs said.

"No, what happened?" Lydia said.

"Yes dear Babs, do speak up," Wendy said. Though the princess was feigning mild interest, she loved juicy gossip and Babs was one of the best in that area. The young goomba gossiped so much so didn't fuel the rumor mill, she 'was' the rumor mill.

"Okay, my younger sister had her fourteenth birthday party last week and there were invites all around. People the kingdom over were there and Tabby, you know how much that girl likes to make an entrance, show up all high and mighty in, get this... star sapphire jewels. Can you believe it?" Babs said.

"No!" Lydia said, letting out a loud gasp.

"Star Sapphires?" Wendy said. "How last month, you would catch me dead in those."

"I know, right," Babs said. Another aspect of being a princess that Wendy absolutely loved was being the cause of fashion trends. All it took was going out in public wearing a high priced label where the Paparazzi could snap a few photo, then every young noble woman and even commoners would be trying to imitate. It also gave Wendy the chance to make a fair bit of money on the side, because of her position brand name companies were practically tripping over themselves for an audience. The princess, if the item in question was up to her standards, also charged a pretty coin for the service of being seen with it.

The two other women continued to gossip like a pair of chatterboxes while Wendy tried to find something that even peaked her interest. It was unusual for the princess not to have the servants loaded down with high priced merchandise within five minutes of walking in, something was disrupting play time. The cause of the anxiety was quickly identified as Wendy realized she was still fuming over Alexander and all the attention he was getting. The human was tripping too many tongues and stealing her thunder. In cases like this there was only one cure.

"Harold," Wendy said, snapping her fingers "jewelry." The man from the front door who was following at a respectable distance bowed deeply and snapped his own finger looking around the store. Within a matter of seconds a half dozen store employees of various species appeared carrying hand held glass cases filled with the most expensive jewelry the store had to offer. Rings, bracelets, necklaces, there was much to choose from. Babs and Lydia's eye lit up like Christmas trees upon seeing what was on display, however the princess was not impressed as she browsed.

"Ugly, tacky, have one of those, have three of those, wrong color," Wendy said. Looking around there was little the princess saw that was of interest to her. The employees were waved off in a dismissive fashion and Wendy let out an annoyed grunt.

"Hmm, looks like I'm going to have to bring out the big guns this time," Harold said. Once again the man snapped his fingers saying something that Wendy didn't quite catch. There was a brief silence and the princess was already becoming impatient, when two more employees appeared from the back of the store pushing a wooden crate as big as she was. That drew a curiously upraised eyebrow from Wendy as they approached.

"As you know your majesty, Garanelli's prides itself on carrying the absolute latest in modern fashion lines," Harold said, "and just this morning we received a new item from the designers Geth and Marr." That immediately peaked Wendy's interest as Geth and Marr were the foremost fashion designers in the kingdom. Most of what was in the princess' closet at the castle had their label attached to it. When one of the employees opened the crate Babs and Lydia let out small gasps, even Wendy blinked upon seeing it.

"Allow me to present, the scene stealer," Harold said. On a mannequin facing away from Wendy was a woman's spiked koopa shell. The one Wendy was current wearing was made of a synthetic tri-weave polymer encased in a lightweight ceramic cover, and set with titanium/steel spikes. It was one of the most expensive models that money could buy. Inside the case was a shell made of magenta colored jewels, spikes of pure diamond, and the outer rim was edged in solid ivory. Even Wendy's heart skipped a beat, it was breathtaking.

"Did you order this just for me?" Wendy said.

"As a matter of fact I did," Harold said. "After you scheduled a visit I called Geth and Marr requesting the design myself." The princess knew it had to be a custom order for two reasons, magenta was also known as royal red and spiked shells were both restricted in the Dark Lands as a mark of the royal house. Only they, or those they chose to show great honor to, were allowed to wear either.

"It can be yours for only three-thousand gold coins," Harold said. Upon hearing the price Wendy's heart dropped remembering the note from her father. The princess also knew it wasn't an empty threat, the last time she went over a set limit Bowser canceled all her credit cards. It took Wendy months to earn them back and she wasn't eager to go through that experience again. About to have to make an excuse as to why the purchase wouldn't be possible the most devious idea crossed the young koopa's mind.

"Oh my stars, I must have left my credit card at the castle," Wendy said, pulling a purse from her shell and pretending to rummage through it.

"Not a problem majesty, we have your credit card numbers on file, which one would you like to use?" Harold said.

"I got a new one recently and I'm dying to use it," Wendy said. The older human dutifully took down all the information including the transaction authorization code and rang up the purchase. The Geth and Marr shell was then put onto a truck and shipped to the palace as per Wendy's instructions. In order to not be left out Babs and Lydia bought several expensive items though the princess paid them little attention. The most satisfying smile came across Wendy's face as it would be at least two weeks before anyone realized she'd given them the information for Ludwig's credit card. Out in the parking lot the conversation picked up once more.

"So we're headed to the royal pool next, right?" Babs said. Among other things Wendy's moods chanced like the wind and though that was the original plan, it no longer seemed interesting. She had something else in mind.

"Say girls, why don't we go to the beach?" Wendy said.

"The beach?" Lydia said.

"Aw, I didn't bring my suntan lotion," Babs said.

"No, not the beach, 'the' beach," Wendy said. When realization sank in about what she meant the other two young women perked up with big grins and excited nods. The destination in question was Sandy Shores, but was better known as Muscle Beach. It was were all the professional bodybuilders, mostly male, went for the express purpose of showing off. It came as no surprise this was also a popular hangout for young women of both the noble and common variety.

On the drive through the Northern Mountains Wendy used a cell phone updated her itinerary letting the castle staff know about the change in plans. It annoyed her to no end having to be monitored at all times, it was one of the down sides to being a princess but just running off would send Bowser through the roof. The only stop on the way was to drive through a security checkpoint along the way. Because the road they were on was the only path leading beyond the mountains her father had long ago erected a set of massive metal gates over sixty feet high to ensure invasion by this route would be all but impossible. At ten feet thick and hundreds of thousands of pounds they'd only ever been opened once after their initial construction to ensure such was possible, and even then it took almost twenty minutes to accomplish. To allow for normal passage a set of small gates were installed near the base.

The limo came to a stop a short distance from the beach and Wendy stepped out taking a deep breath. The smell of the salty sea air and the sound of waves crashing against the beach was always a relaxing sensation. Friends in tow Wendy made it a point to put her hips to work when walking and some distance away a male voice yelled. The princess almost laughed when those who were working out on the beach starting adding an almost ridiculous amount of weight to their workout. Everybody wanted to show off for the princess and it was something she just ate up. Without even having to ask a trio of muscular hammer brothers offered the ladies chairs to sit in which were accepted. Again Wendy feigned mild interest but in truth she was trying not to drool on the sand. There were mostly hammer brothers, chucks, and turtles working out. They were all heavily muscled and like any eighteen year old woman Wendy was extremely... interested.

Babs and Lydia weren't even trying to hide their interest as they watched the men work out, whistling at a few as they walked by. Those that were whistled at would stop and pose for them but no one approached. It was an open secret that all nobles, including the royal family, had their children shadowed by bodyguards whenever they went anywhere. Normally they blended in to the background so well that even Wendy couldn't point them out, at least until trouble appeared. For a moment Wendy thought back to a few years ago when she had refused to go out with and older turtle. He'd become quite upset and when dismissed made the mistake of grabbing the princess by the arm. Like a ghost the bodyguard, a female chuck, almost melted out of thin air and by the time she was done the offending turtle was in traction for four months.

These thoughts faded when a young and very well muscled hammer brother walked by, he was gorgeous even by Wendy's standard and she dropped face for a moment, growled, and snapped at him. That the princess had taken notice of someone was enough for the hammer to stop, remove his helmet revealing a smooth bald head, and drop to one knee holding up a set of bulging biceps. By this time Wendy's pulse was racing and her hormones were working overtime.

Another aspect of the bodyguards that shadowed the royal family was very frustrating to Wendy, they were also tasked with keeping the raging hormones of the royal house's younger generation in check. This was done by Bowser primarily to avoid a bumper crop of bastard children. The princess would have very much liked to take the hammer brother back to her room in the castle, but she knew that wouldn't happen. At times it was enough to drive the young koopa woman up the wall. It was fun for Wendy to come to the beach and watch the bodybuilders, but at the same time it was also torturous.

Some time later the hormones began to die down and Wendy once again began to think about the thorn in her side, Alexander. For him to even be associating with the royal family in any capacity other than a servant on bended knee was an insult to everything the princess believed in. Humans were weaker than koopa, had no scales, and were little more than insects in her mind. They weren't even native to Mushroom World, were it not for the pipe network there would be no humans here. They didn't even have a city of their own or any form of culture, they always mixed where they settled.

Thoughts on this matter became deep enough that Wendy wasn't even paying attention to Babs, Lydia, or the bodybuilders. There were multiple angles to consider in this, the human was an intolerable insult to the House of Koopa. She definitely wanted to do something to get back at Ludwig and it was time to act.

"I have pressing matters I have to attend to ladies, we'll talk later," Wendy said. From the seat the princess rose and walked back toward the limo leaving both friends to wonder exactly what was going on. The outing had the effect Wendy hoped it would in clearing her head, in fact it was so clear at this point a plan was beginning to form. One that would deal several blows at once and if done right and leave no trail leading back to her.

"Home," Wendy said, getting back into the limo. As the vehicle drove away the princess began to rummage through her shell which doubled as a carry-all for a variety of things. From within she pulled out a pink cell phone before tossing it onto the seat, then pulled out another which was black in color. If anything the princess was resourceful. All transmissions from the personal communication devices of any sort within the royal house were monitored for security reasons, save Bowser of course. It had taken a lot of time, effort, and scheming but Wendy managed to get her claws on a phone that none of her family knew about. She sent a text message to a contact with a single word 'Tango'.

After an uneventful drive back to the castle the princess made sure there were no summons or requests from Bowser, then went straight to her room claiming to be tired. Inside the room Wendy looked around for a moment considering possibilities. The personal bedrooms of the royal family were the one place that Bowser allowed them to go without being monitored. The same couldn't be said of her siblings however, on more than one occasion Wendy had found bugs in her room placed there by several of her brothers. It would take a long time to search for any of them so the princess decided to take a shortcut.

One of the titles Wendy held she was quite proud of and often bragged about. At the tender age of eighteen she was considered an Archmagus by the Koopa School for Magic. The princess was considered the most powerful user of koopa magic in Mushroom World next to her father. Having just arrived all of Wendy's electronic devices were still turned off except for an alarm clock which she unplugged. Next the princess pulled a wand from her shell and held it aloft. The long bejeweled golden shaft widened at the top into a cone set with a large red glass casing on the top. At this point Wendy didn't even need to chant mantras, she was skilled enough to use magic through mental manipulation alone.

The wand a powerful electrical blast that rippled around the room. There was a tiny popping sound from one of the post on Wendy's canopy bed and when the princess went to check it out, there was a camouflaged bug designed to record audio. With a smirk she removed, dropped, and stepped on the bug grinding it pieces with a high heel. Once the room was secure a ninji, with two coal black eyes set inside a white oval, quickly appeared. The individual was a personal spy for the princess, all of the royal family had several in their employ and the 'Tango' text was code for them to meet. Even though the bug was destroyed the princess was paranoid about other possible means of eavesdropping, so whenever they met all conversations were held using sign language.

"As you are tasked with keeping tabs on my brother Ludwig I need to know if he has any plans in motion," Wendy signed.

"You brother always has plans in motion majesty, he is a very busy koopa. However if you narrowed the scope of your question I might be able to provide some information that you find useful," the Ninji signed.

"The human, does he have anything planned involving that idiot," Wendy signed.

"As a matter of fact he does. There's a shipment of gold coming into Cape Boomer tonight under the cover of darkness. The bullion is destined for the Mushroom Kingdom's mint, but you brother plans to... divert the shipment. I overheard him talking about plans involving said idiot," the Ninji signed.

"Perfect," Wendy signed, another devious smile coming across her face. "Here's what I want you to do so listen closely..."


	4. Chapter IV

The confrontation in the hallway was a good indication to Alexander that the members of the royal family didn't appear to get along very well, if at all. The prince and princess may well have come to blows were it not for the intervention of Bowser. It was also apparent to him that the members of the royal family considered Alexander to be little more than a novelty item and it was no secret that Wendy detested the sight of him. Still reeling from everything that was going on he walked down the halls of the castle at a lethargic pace. That Ludwig wanted to meet with him in situation room three was not something that Alexander had forgotten, taking his time about getting there was one of the few ways the young man could thumb a nose at the royal house.

The stress he was feeling was already considerable to say the least. Until a few days ago Alexander was just trying to make his way through life, work hard, pay bills, and figure things out a day at a time. Now thanks to something called a warp pipe all of that changed. Here in this strange world filled with strange creatures Alexander was forced to serve the House of Koopa against his will, to make matters worse they all seemed to look down on humans like the entire species was something to ashamed of. It wasn't easy to keep his emotions in check but that was something he was good at. Though Alexander did sometimes allow feelings to run high they never took control, he was always able to keep a lid on things.

After close to half an hour of pointless wandering Alexander decided it was time to head for situation room three to see exactly what Ludwig wanted. Still unfamiliar with the layout of the castle he had to ask a passing guard for directions. On the ground floor of the castle Alexander finally came to the room in question and opened the door walking inside. Situation room three was a medium sized area made of gray stone like the rest of the castle. There were shelves lining the walls with various papers, maps and books neatly arranged upon them and in the center of the room there was a large around table made of aged oak. Around that table stood a pair of hammer brothers, a magi-koopa, and a ninji who was on top of the table due to how short it was. They were all looking down at a map along with Prince Ludwig.

"Here we are, now that Alexander has deigned to join us, this meeting may now proceed," Ludwig said. No one in the room would have thought there was any love loss by the expressions exchanged between the two. Alexander still wanted to wring the prince's neck and leave this entire fiasco behind, but in light of his employee profile being used in court the young man was fairly certain some rather nasty individuals would come calling regardless of location if he tried to leave. Instead of the normally thoughtful and slightly stoop-shouldered expression, he decided it was time to look more confident. Alexander approached the table head held high and folded both arms over the chest without saying anything.

"Under normal circumstances it would not require protracted explanations or lengthy amounts of time to formulate a cohesive plan, however due to recent changes-" Ludwig said.

"Just get on with it, I'll let you know if my feeble 'human' mind can't keep up," Alexander said, cutting the prince short.

"Very well, this meeting has been convened to discuss a most interesting opportunity that has been brought to my attention through sources within the Mushroom Kingdom. Cape Boomer, on this very night, is to be host to a covert shipment of gold bullion destined for the Kingdom's mint," Ludwig said.

"I take it the shipment won't reach the mint," Alexander said, looking down at the map.

"A most astute observation," Ludwig said, motioning to the magi-koopa. "This team will lead by my brother Roy whom I briefed earlier this morning and tasked with the mission of diverting the shipment of bullion here to the Dark Lands."

"What about the Bartonelli brothers you mentioned earlier, who are they and will they present a problem?" Alexander said.

"The Bartonelli brothers are a pair of humans that act as protectors to the Mushroom Kingdom and personal bodyguards to Princess Peach," one of the hammer brothers said. "It's not likely they will be in Cape Boomer when the operation takes place, however their appearance could be... problematic."

"Well I did take about a pair hammer brothers attached to the royal guard, if these Bartonelli brothers show up I guess I'll handle them too," Alexander said. This caused a none to subtle snicker to arise from the others there causing the young man to look around curiously. There was obviously something Alexander was missing, but what he didn't know.

"You, defeat Mario or Luigi, you'd have a better chance of beating King Koopa than you would them," the magi-koopa said. Even though Alexander found that comment to be strange he looked over knowing the prince likely wouldn't pass up the chance to show off his considerable intellect.

"Col. Halforth is referring to how the brothers Bartonelli have long stood in the way of the House of Koopa's designs to expand the holdings of our kingdom at the expense of theirs. As to our doubt of your ability to defeat them, they have on numerous occasions defeated father in single combat," Ludwig said. That alone was enough to draw a rather shocked expression from Alexander. How a human would be capable to defeating something as large or powerful as King Koopa was beyond him. Once the shock of that wore off it occurred to the young man that no one was invincible, but the idea of a human defeating King Koopa was still a hard pill to swallow. Prince Roy had done a wonderful job of stomping Alexander into the ground and he knew the koopa wasn't as powerful as his father.

"So what kind of resistance are we looking at?" the first hammer brother asked.

"Minimal," Ludwig said. "The Kingdom would see this shipment transported covertly, therefore they will only dispatch enough soldiers to make this appear a standard shipment. Now time is of the essence, so unless there are further inquiries you are to rendezvous with Roy in the pipe room."

The mention of the pipe room made Alexander curious, though instead of asking he decided to simply wait and see. The magi-koopa lead the small strike team through the castle halls until they reached the destination in question. As they approached the pipe room Alexander saw Roy leaning against the wall with his arms folded letting out a casual yawn. The opinion of humans within the House of Koopa was no secret however this particular prince had yet to actually offend the young man even in light of their first encounter. Roy was only following orders after all. There wasn't much talk as the group walked into the pipe room and Alexander was rather surprised by the sight before him and a bit bothered. His first experience with a warp pipe wasn't a pleasant one.

The group was lead by Roy who crawled into one of the pipes on the wall followed by the others. With a sigh Alexander followed figuring things couldn't get any worse, at least until exiting the pipe. There was only a momentary darkness before Alexander was launched into the air by the exit force and landed on the ground like a sack of potatoes. The others had a good laugh at his expense before moving on. From above Alexander could tell that they were still in the Dark Lands by the cloud cover, however it was beginning to thin out. Ahead tiny patches of light began to show through and for the first time since coming here the young man saw the sky.

The group walked for most of the day through the mountains without speaking. From time to time Roy would stop and seemingly check the area by looking around before continuing. It wasn't until evening time that the landscape changed to that of low foothills that became covered by grass the further they walked. Soon the mountains fell away to fields of verdant green grass and the ashen smell of the Dark Lands became that of a sweet summer. In the distance Alexander saw a small guard station barely large enough to house two people. The small white structure was topped by a tin roof and bore the symbol of a large mushroom on the side, it didn't take a genius to figure out that the station was meant to guard the border.

The way the group approached the station was so casual that it made Alexander wonder if they were concerned at all, he was about to say something until they got closer. Inside there were two human guards, one of them had a hammer sister pressed against the glass giving Alexander a perfect view of her chest. His hands on her hips and it was obvious he was 'getting busy'. The other was sitting down with a young mushroom woman bouncing up and down on his lap. As they passed by Alexander arched a brow curiously.

"Not all bribes come in the form of money," one of the hammer brothers said.

"Obviously," Alexander said. Not far beyond the border they came upon an eighteen-wheeler and a turtle driver waiting on them. Once inside Roy took the passenger seat with everyone else piling into the sleeping area in the back. To the sound of a low rumble the vehicle started up and the driver began to move off. The other thing Alexander found strange is that there was no road, they were driving through an open field at almost 70 mph and no one seemed to consider this odd. Alexander still had no idea what he was actually doing here aside from being along for the ride. Even the beautiful landscape began to fall away in his mind as the gravity of the situation began to set in.

Since arriving here Alexander had been taking things a day at a time trying to survive, but now he was involved in a covert military operation against a neighboring kingdom. Things couldn't get anymore real than this and he wasn't sure what to do, how to react, or even how to handle this situation. Now more than ever Alexander felt powerless to affect anything around him and a deep depression was starting to settle in.

"Slow down, dere's sometin' ahead," Roy said. The young man looked up to see the prince holding a pair of binoculars that appeared quite advanced in design. This drew Alexander's attention but it was too dark to see by now and the vehicle running without headlights. The only thing the young man knew is that it was some distance to the right as Roy was looking out the passenger window instead of the windshield. Instead of saying anything the prince made a hand motion and everyone started to get out of the vehicle as the driver cut the engine and joined them, removing a short spear from under the seat. Not sure what was going on Alexander just tagged along.

By this time is was dark enough it took time for his eyes to adjust and looking up into the sky the moon was a bright white and appeared much closer than the one on Earth. Still behind the group Alexander glanced over curiously while moving through the knee high grass at a light source in his peripheral vision. There in the sky was a second moon, visibly smaller than the first and a pale blue in color. Doing a double-take Alexander stood there for a moment shocked by the sight of a second moon.

"Come on, move," the turtle said, as he jogged by.

The voice jolted him back to the present and the young man kept moving, "How many moons are there here?"

"Three," the turtle said. For close to a mile the group kept up a steady jogging pace and Alexander was thankful he was in such good shape. They finally came to a stop behind an outcropping of rocks giving everyone there a chance to see what all the commotion was about. There were two horse drawn wagons coming down a dirt road that looked more like gypsy carts. There were a dozen mushroom guards equipped with spears walking along side them, six on each side and nothing appeared out of the ordinary. What caught Alexander's attention was the mushroom symbol on the side like the one on the guard station. He was beginning to catch on that it was the crest for the royal house in the Mushroom Kingdom.

Roy had a quick whispered conversation with the group and it was obvious the prince intended to raid the small convoy. Everyone was given a point of attack with the intent of throwing the guards into disarray though multiple attack vectors. The prince instructed them to pair off and attack in groups of two as well as when to attack. The hammer brothers were one group, with the magi-koopa and the driver another while Roy teamed up with Alexander. This battle strategy as it was laid out seemed like a good plan and it also gave the young man a little insight into this particular member of the royal family. While Roy did seem as thick as a brick on the surface it would seem the koopa had a head for tactics.

As they started to move off, keeping low in the grass they waited in silence for the wagons to come by. The hammer brothers were the first to attack and moving off they were quickly followed by the second group, with Roy and Alexander bringing up the rear. The first two moved to hit from the front and rear while the last went straight for the flank. Within a few seconds of one another all six melted out of the darkness letting out battle cries that took the guards by surprise, they were also thrown into disarray by being hit from multiple angels.

In a straight bull rush Roy grabbed one of the guards and shoulder smashed him against the side of the wagon to the sound of several bones breaking. The mushroom soldier let out a small cry and dropped to the ground motionless. When others took notice of this the koopa prince slapped the side of his shell and a wand ejected from it. Gold in design it wasn't as bejeweled as one the Wendy used and closer in size to that of a quarter staff. Weapon in hand Roy turned and unleashed a powerful blast of magical energy at another guard who was thrown back onto the ground in a smoking heap. The third guard to attack the prince got an underhand swung wand to the head and with a loud 'whack' he went down for the count.

This too gave Alexander more information because while Roy was without a doubt a physical powerhouse, it would seem he also had skill in the mystic arts, but to what extent remained a mystery. The guards didn't seem eager to leave the young man out of the action as a guard lunged at Alexander with a spear thrust aimed for the chest. The attack came from the side allowing him to twist out of the way. Grabbing the weapon the young man twist it, kicked the guard in the chest, and wrested the weapon loose. Not normally one to use lethal force Alexander wasn't opposed to using such when others tried to do the same. As the guard rose the young man drove the head of the spear into his chest. The weapon pulled free without much effort and Alexander then hurled the weapon at one of the guards who was faced away from him with the intent of attacking the turtle driver, the guard was struck down by a spear through the back.

By the time Alexander killed two guards the rest were down for the count including the wagon drivers. The entire fight lasted less than a minute and fourteen mushroom citizens were dead as a result. With nothing standing in their way Roy walked to the first wagon and threw the back door open. The only thing visible were boxes of various sizes lining three walls. The prince walked in and started looking through the contents. The first box he opened was filled with small jewels of multiple colors and Roy smiled broadly tossing it to one of the hammer brothers before continuing. Each container was carefully searched and by the time everything was accounted for there was a small golden crown, several yards of pink cloth, a chest full of gold coins, expensive perfume, and other items making it obvious this was likely intended for a young woman.

"Man Princess Peach gon' be ticked when dis dun arrive," Roy said. In the second wagon were food items, two wheels of cheese, dried meats, non-alcoholic grape wine, expensive spices including something called Star Dust which Alexander had never heard of, and other consumables. The rest of the group, save the young man, was already looking at everything in the cart with hungry eyes.

"Da ship ain't due in fa five hours, feedin' time boys," Roy said, hurling one of the cheese wheels into the grass. The other cheese wheel was used as a table with everything laid out on top. A short distance away Alexander took a seat in the grass to think about everything and try to clear his head.

"Hey butthead, get ova here," Roy said. Were it not for good reflexes the young man would have caught a bottle of grape wine to the head, though it was tossed rather than thrown. That left Alexander somewhat puzzled about what to do next.

"You want me to eat with you?" Alexander said.

"Well yous did earn part of da spoils dinnit ya?" Roy said. When the rest of the team motioned Alexander over, he was quite surprised by this change in attitude compared to previous dealings with the royal house.

"I didn't think you'd want me around after our little spat in the throne room," Alexander said, taking a seat next to the others.

"Ah, I ain't worried 'bout dat, we just tossin' down a lil, no harm no foul," Roy said. That statement surprised the young man considering how worked up the two of them became in the process. The rest of the group ate, drank, and chatted with one another casually like it was just another day at the office despite having just killed fourteen Mushroom People in cold blood. The level of aggression and willingness to kill the Koopa displayed was also something that bothered Alexander. Thus far he'd only killed out of self-defense, under orders, and was still trying to figure out how to handle this whole situation.

"So you don't mind eating with a lowly primate?" Alexander said.

"Wuz dat 'spose ta mean?" Roy said.

"Until now I've been trying to figure out who Prince Ludwig and Princess Wendy want to kill more, me or each other," Alexander said. "Seems neither of them are too fond of my species, or is it just my charming personality?"

That drew a boisterous laughter from the prince, "Ah dun let dem two prudes get ya down, I dun care what ya is as long as ya do da job and dun get in mah way," Roy said. After that Alexander ate in silence as the others talked amongst themselves. The fact that Roy didn't really seem to care one way or the other didn't do much to alleviate the young man's stress. Of Bowser's eight children two seemed to hate him with a passion while a third simply didn't care. Alexander still didn't have anyone who was actually on his side. As ever the young man was alone in this situation, effectively thrown to the wolves and left to fight for his life. That was a story Alexander was all too familiar with, one that he'd lived almost since birth.

About the only emotion that was surfacing at the moment was intense hatred for the House of Koopa as a whole. They hated Alexander and he hated them, the feeling seemed mutual on both sides. When everyone was finished the loot was piled into the back of the eighteen-wheeler. For the rest of the trip Alexander nibbled on cheese and grape wine while allowing his mind to wander. Even though he wasn't hungry anymore the cheese was fantastic. That and Alexander would often eat as a means to relieve stress.

Soon it was so dark it was almost impossible to see leaving the young man to wonder how the driver was able to. This question was answered with but a simple look, Alexander could see the driver wearing a pair of military grade night vision goggles. That was something else that bothered the young man, being involved in a military operation, he was the only person here not of rank. There were marking on the shells or robe of everyone here save Roy. The symbols were similar enough to Earth for Alexander to guess that the hammer brothers were sergeants, the driver was perhaps a lieutenant, and the magi-koopa he knew held the rank of colonel.

Cape Boomer eventually came into view as a large black mass against the distant moonlit horizon. Alexander's pulse started to race knowing that he would soon be helping to steal a rather large shipment of gold from another kingdom.

"So do we get any of the spoils from this?" Alexander said.

"Yeah, everybody gets a lil' somethin' based on dey rank," Roy said.

"I don't have a rank, I'm not part of the military," Alexander said.

"Dun worry, if yas do good I'll see ya get a sumpin' fo' da job," Roy said. In light of past dealings with the House of Koopa, Alexander wasn't very reassured by this promise, but there wasn't much he could do about it. As the team continued their approach to Cape Boomer the turtle driver pressed a red button on the dashboard causing the normally loud rumble of the diesel engine to become little more than a quiet purr. This was something Alexander found rather interesting as nothing like that existed on Earth, this made it rather obvious that the Dark Lands had developed technology specifically for the purpose of conducting raids. That also made the young man more curious as to the exact nature of their society.

"Here, eat this," Halforth said. The item held out to Alexander appeared to be an oddly oval shaped flower with a red ring over one of yellow, both set around a white center with what appeared to be two eye and a green stalk with two leaves at the base.

"What is this?" Alexander said.

"It's called a fire flower, you might just need it for the coming mission," Halforth said. Still unsure of why he should eat something like this the young man was also paranoid that someone might have malicious intentions and wish him harm. Rather hesitantly he took the flower and inspected it carefully, then looked between the flower and Halforth several times.

"Just eat it would you? If I wanted to kill you I could do it much easier than poison if that's what you're thinking," Halforth said.

Still uneasy about the whole idea of eating a strange flower Alexander carefully put the item in his mouth, chewed, swallowed, and almost immediately started to wretch. Not only was the taste utterly horrible, the flower seemed to burn all the way down to his stomach which was now roiling like a pool of molten lava. Alexander's entire body felt like it was heating up and he was starting to think it might just be poison.

"What's... happening to me?" Alexander said. It was taking everything he had not to throw up.

"The burning sensation is normal it'll pass in a moment, though your first flower can be a bit rough," Halforth said. Just as the magi-koopa predicted several seconds later everything seemed to calm down save for the feeling of intense heat that pervaded Alexander's body.

"Feeling better?" Halforth said.

"I think so, what just happened?" Alexander said.

"You wanna see something really cool, I bet you're feeling pretty hot under the collar right about now aren't you?" Halforth said.

"As a matter of fact I am," Alexander said.

"Good, now hold your hand out palm up, and try to focus on that feeling of heat. Imagine that heat traveling down through the arm into the palm of your hand," Halforth said.

Still not sure exactly what was going on Alexander did as instructed and holding out his left hand the young man concentrated, mentally picturing the heat concentrating itself in his palm. At first nothing seemed to happen, then slowly small waves of heat began to rise up. It was a most curious sensation as Alexander felt no warmer, so he continued to focus. Almost without warning those waves ignited causing him to jump back with a start.

"What the hell?!" Alexander said, frantically waving his hand. At this everyone in the cab busted out laughing.

"Aw man, dat neva gets old," Roy said. Halforth then explained to Alexander that a fire flower causes a biochemical reaction in the body that allows for the external generation of fire. He also cautioned that while the fireball could be hurled like a weapon, one had to be careful. The user was not immune to this fire and could be badly burned by their own weapon if not careful.

"What about the rest of you, are you going to eat one?" Alexander said.

"No," Halforth said. "The koopa species don't have the right body chemistry. If we eat a fire flower it just tastes like crap." Alexander continued to practice trying to create a fireball as the vehicle closed the remaining distance to their target, fascinated by the ability to generate fire.

"How long does this last?" Alexander said.

"About four to six hours depending on the individual," Halforth said. It was dark enough for the eighteen wheeler to park roughly half a mile from Cape Boomer without being seen and as the group got out of the cab Alexander's pulse really started to race. As angry as he was with the House of Koopa and the situation as it now sat, there was a degree of excitement involved. To sneak into another kingdom under the cover of night, steal a huge shipment of gold and then just disappear, it all rang of the far fetched adventure novels that Alexander used to read on Earth. Only now instead of reading it, he was living it.

Before they moved on Roy explained the plan in detail. Because the House of Toadstool was trying to move the gold without raising suspicion there wouldn't be any additional guards in place tonight. This meant that they would have to take out the guards on the wall, by back gate, and the docks before moving to the ship itself. If everything went according to plan the eighteen-wheeler would be moved down by the dock once it was secure and the shipment of gold would only take about half an hour to unload. After that it would be a quick ride back to the Dark Lands for a celebration.

The plan sounded simple enough but Alexander was still paranoid, most plans sounded great on paper, then went to hell when put into action. The hammer brothers were tasked with taking out the guards at the back gate, the driver and Col. Halforth would take the dock, while Roy and Alexander took care of the guards on the wall. Once everything was explained the group took off at a steady run toward the city and soon the other two teams split off leaving Alexander alone with Roy. The two continued to move in silence until the were only a few hundred yard away. The fact that Roy could move so quietly in light of his size surprised the young man, never the less the koopa prince made nary a sound.

The city itself was surrounded by a twenty-foot high wall making it impossible to see inside and near the base Alexander was curious about how they were going to scale upward without climbing gear. The answer to that question came when Roy grabbed him by the back of the shirt and jumped almost straight up. Grabbing onto the lip of the wall with one hand the prince pushed Alexander onto the top following close behind. There was a brief explanation with Roy telling Alexander to go left while he went right. This would allow the young man to sneak up behind the guards while the prince took others out in a more direct manner, and the two quickly parted company.

To say that Alexander's nerves were frayed at this point would have been a poor description of how he felt. This was a life and death situation but it was too late to turn back now. The one thing that Alexander learned to do growing up was to suppress emotions until such a time that they could be let out and dealt with. This allowed him to quash both fear and anxiety to focus solely on the matter at hand. As quietly as possible Alexander moved along the top of the wall spotting a patrolling guard some thirty feet ahead. The mushroom was walking away in a rather casual manner with a small spear in hand, obviously not expecting anything to happen on his watch.

At first Alexander tried to be as quiet as possible, then about ten feet away the guard's hearing must have detected something as he started to turn around. Seeing this Alexander surged forward as fast possible, tackled the guard, and quickly broke his neck. The spear would make for a good weapon except for the fact he preferred something smaller. It wasn't hard for Alexander to snap the spear head off leaving just enough of the shaft to use as a handle. Now armed with a makeshift dagger he continued forward looking for another target.

Right now the only thoughts going through Alexander's mind was completing this mission and getting back to the Dark Lands in one piece. Other thoughts were nothing more than distractions which, at this point, could prove deadly. The young man pushed everything else aside and continued to stalk forward. Some distance ahead Alexander saw another similar figure walking along in the darkness and once again attempted to move forward in a stealthy manner. It would seem that practice made perfect this time as he managed to come within the few feet of the second guard without being heard. In one quick motion Alexander wrapped a hand around the mushroom's mouth and stabbed him in the back repeatedly, six times in total including one strike directly to the heart.

With two targets down he continued forward only a short distance before seeing a much larger figure approaching in the darkness. It wasn't long before Roy appeared and smirked, seeing the blood stained weapon in the young man's hand. After another small confab Alexander was instructed to remain by the back gate and watch for any signs of trouble while the shipment of gold was being offloaded. If things did start to go sideways and they were discovered, stealth wouldn't matter so yelling would be the easiest way to go.

In some ways standing by the gate waiting for something to happen was worse than attacking someone, at least on the wall there was some idea of what to expect. Here anything could pop-up and with Alexander's inexperience in Mushroom World he had no idea what that might be. Soon the truck appeared, slowly backing down to the dock and the other five members of the team retrieved hand trucks from the back. Even at night Alexander could see the dock of this particular coastal city was small, designed to only house a few ships at any given time. The wooden structure extended out from where the grass gave way to sand and out over the shallow water. There was only a single dirt path leading to the gate. There were a few small buildings to the right that appeared to be customs offices and some cranes for moving cargo, beyond that it was empty coastline in either direction as far as the eye could see.

Time seemed to pass at an unbearably slow pace as the team continued to load the gold onto the truck. Ever vigilant Alexander stood watch at the back gate for any signs of trouble, about ready to jump out of his suit. That very action almost occurred when the sound of a single set of running feet could be heard along the top of the wall. At first Alexander was about to yell out, then stopped and pressed his back against wall. The figure jumped down and he was only able to see a small vague figure in the darkness. Because it was only one person Alexander decided to take them out quietly so the team could continue their work.

It didn't take long for him to take off running behind the figure and pick up speed, about half way to the dock Alexander caught up to his target which appeared to be making a mad dash for Roy. The prince had just looked up to see what was going on when the mysterious figure stopped and held an arm up. In the darkness a fireball ignited and was drawn back as if to be hurled when Alexander performed a perfect power tackle from behind. The two went tumbling and as the young man rose to his feet Roy let out a surprised snarl.

"Mario?! Wut iz yous doin' here?!" Roy said. In that instant Alexander realized just how dangerous the situation had just become. According to Prince Ludwig, Mario Bartonelli was one of the few people capable of facing and defeating Bowser in single combat. Not only was that something had to swallow, the figure of the man standing before him was not what Alexander had imagined. Instead of some towering example of human bodybuilding, there was a fat little man no more than five-six wearing blue overalls with a red shirt, white gloves, brown shoes, and a funny red hat sporting an M on the front. As a result of being tackled from behind Mario rose to face Alexander instead of his original target, straightening his mustache slightly.

"Run!" Roy said, looking to Alexander. The others were already running as fast as possible while pushing the crates of gold. Mario seemed to be looking between the young man in front of him and the rest of the team in order to decide who to go after.

"Go on, get out of here. I'll keep butterball busy while the rest of you book," Alexander said.

"Is yous out of ya mind, dat's Mario," Roy said.

"I know, just go," Alexander said. Roy muttered something about Alexander being out of his mind before taking off. When Mario looked as if he were about to take off after the others the young man ignited a fireball in his hand.

"Where do you think you're going fat boy?" Alexander said. Another fireball ignited in Mario's hand and the two started to circle one another, each waiting for the other to make a move.

"Before we get this little party started I think introductions are in order. I'm Alexander Magnus of Earth," Alexander said.

"I'ma Mario Bartonelli of the Mushroom Kingdom, and youra under arrest," Mario said.

"Do your worst," Alexander said. The young man then hurled his fireball at Mario and charged after it. His opponent returned the gesture hurling a fireball forward and the two projectiles met in flight causing a small explosion. This took Alexander by surprise causing him to flinch, that one gesture was also enough of an opening for a solid kick to the gut to be delivered. With a cough he staggered taking a right hook to the jaw as well. The blow was solid and Alexander tilted to one side but remained standing, he than came back with a powerful haymaker hitting Mario in the jaw full force. The plumber staggered sideways, dazed from the blow.

"You'll have to do better than that to take me down lard ball," Alexander said. As the young man attempted to capitalize on his attack and moved forward a blindly thrown fireball nearly struck him in the face. By the time Alexander twisted to one side to avoid the attack and recover his opponent was ready. This time he decided to change tactics and started hurling fireballs at Mario as fast as possible. Using both hands Alexander hurled the fireballs however his inexperience with fire flowers was obvious. About every third or fourth attack would come up empty as he wasn't able to form a fireball with every last swing.

Mario on the other hand hurled fireballs like it was a hobby, not only was he faster, the plumber's projectiles were also larger and stronger. It didn't take long for Alexander to start losing ground and realize this wasn't working. If anything he was highly skilled at close quarters combat, so he dove into a forward roll and came up with an uppercut. Before the attack ever landed an explosion of fire erupted in Alexander's chest hurling him back into the ground. It took a moment to realize he'd just taken a fireball at point blank range. The blow was strong enough to eat through most of the leather shirt and leave painful burns.

Now it was a painful experience just for Alexander to move, but the sensation was by no mean new. Pushing past it he rose and prepared for another attack. By this time guards were already filtering out of the city forming a small circle around the two combatants. It was obvious to Alexander that there would be no escaping, but the rest of the team was already long gone which was the original idea behind all of this. Now it was just a matter of putting Mario down for the count if possible as a matter of pride, following that Alexander imagined the rest of the mushroom guards would kill him.

This time it was Mario who attacked first, rushing forward with a series of quick punches and jabs. This was the type of fighting that Alexander was accustom to and he easily blocked and deflected the attacks. When the plumber overextended a punch he grabbed the arm, pulled forward and delivered a solid elbow to the face. Once again when Mario staggered back, capitalizing on the attack was brought to a painful halt by another blind fireball to the chest. Again Alexander hit the ground, this time his chest feeling like it was on fire to the point breathing was painful.

"Okay, now you're pissing me off plunger breath," Alexander said. To rise a second time was even harder than before as the pain was now searing. In the moonlight he could see pasty white and bright red patches of skin, a good indication of third degree burns. As the plumber had yet to fully regain his senses Alexander summoned a fireball of his own intent on some payback. The moment the projectile left his hand Mario jumped into the air doing a complete flip and planted a foot squarely into the burnt skin of the chest. Both of them hit the ground after that, Mario having reacted on instinct and landing badly while Alexander cursed loudly, his newly acquired wound being stuck rather hard.

The young man rolled on the ground in immense pain while his opponent stood up carefully checking the hip that hit the ground for any serious injury. While recovering from the pain Alexander was beginning to realize that the fight was going extremely badly for him. Mario was a lot tougher than he looked and quite adept at fire based combat. If things kept going the way they were Alexander knew he would probably end up a char-chrispy before being arrested. The pain finally subsided enough for him to rise and by this time Mario was ready and waiting.

Again the two began to trade punches, both quite skilled in the areas of attack and defense with little ground being gained in either direction, however Mario wasn't the only one trained in unorthodox fighting styles. To one side of the plumber's head Alexander threw a hand out into his peripheral vision. This caused Mario to instinctively glance over and he caught two jabs and a left hook to the face for it. Instead of coming straight in to follow up Alexander spun to the side as his opponent again threw a fireball forward in a defensive manner, and struck with a powerful elbow to the head. Mario fell to the ground blinking several times and shook his head. This time Alexander did follow through giving him a solid kick to the chest. While it wasn't nearly as bad as the burns hitting Mario in the chest did provide a bit of payback. The plumber grunted and rolled onto his back in response to this.

"Yeah, now that's what I'm talking about," Alexander said. At first Mario rose slowly and as the young man prepared to attack again, the plumber lunged forward with a burst of speed. The sudden movement caught Alexander off-guard and he was tackled to the ground which was unusual. With Mario on top he was pummeled with punches so fast there wasn't time to recover, and soon remaining conscious was about the only thing possible and even that required effort. Once the attack finally ended Alexander laid there on the ground trying to form a coherent thought, his upper body in so much pain it was almost unbearable.

"Nota so tough after all," Mario said. With a face that looked like bloody hamburger the rage and anger starting to well up inside of Alexander was reaching the boiling point. Again thinking of the fact that ever since coming to Mushroom World the entire experience involved little more than fighting, intense pain, and being looked down upon by everyone around him. The blood burned Alexander's eye as he forced one open just enough to see Mario turning to walk away. Now running on empty managed to push up one last time.

"Don't you turn your back on me!" Alexander said. There wasn't even time for Mario to turn around before being grabbed from behind. Instead of a tackle Alexander lifted up and dropped his opponent back into a suplex, then rolled over top. In a show of immense strength he lifted and hurled Mario toward the dock like a sack of potatoes. After that Alexander hit the ground and remained there. Like the fight with Roy the spirit was still willing, but the body was beyond its limits and no longer able to move. With blurring vision Alexander could see Mario on the ground holding the small of his back with an expression of pain. It was obvious the plumber would recover and was in far better shape, though giving up without a fight was out of the question. There was no resistance offered when someone cuffed Alexander from behind and after that he gave in finally losing consciousness.


	5. Chapter V

For the second time since arriving in Mushroom World, Alexander woke up inside a jail cell. This time however instead of being in normal clothing he was clad in a bright red jumpsuit with the numbers '5493517' over the right breast and a pair of simple brown shoes. Much like his former residence in the Dark Lands there was only a cot with a toilet, sink, and a piece of polished square metal for a mirror inside an eight by eight stone room with open front bars. Here there was a barred window at the back of the room that allowed Alexander to see outside. The jail appeared to be on a hill overlooking the rest of the city which was comprised of either single or double story wood and adobe buildings. There was a single dirt road leading through the center of town and out beyond Alexander's line of sight so he had no idea where it lead.

The fact that moving around didn't hurt came as no surprise, with healing magic able to facilitate rapid recovery the House of Toadstool would no doubt want him in good form for the upcoming trial. The fact that he was alive told Alexander that a trial would be coming and he had a fairly good idea that this one wouldn't go very well. At this point he really didn't care, all of the rage and anger that had remained buried within for so long was beginning to push its way to the surface. The stress and strain of both the culture shock and what Alexander was being forced to endure were pushing the young man to his mental limits. Though not normally a violent person by nature that was quickly changing and right now more than anything he wanted to wrap both hands around Mario's neck and strangle the life out of that man.

The ability to fight and come out on top when he had to was something Alexander was quite proud of, now it was a well known fact he'd lost to both Prince Roy and Mario which were two severe blows to personal pride. That along with essentially being trapped in a cage had Alexander fuming to the point his face beginning to turn red. None of his normal means of relieving stress were working either. When lunch time came a human guard pushed a cart through the jail and slid a tray full of food through a small slot in the bottom of the bars. There was a more food than expected, at least three kinds of fruit, two slices of bread with butter, and two meat patties of unknown stock set on a bed of rice.

"What's with all the food?" Alexander said, picking the tray up.

"Healing magic drains a person's strength and the throne wants you in good health for your trial. Considering how much healing it took to put you back together after you got owned my Mario, I'm surprised you can still stand," the guard said.

The last part of the comment drew a vicious glare from Alexander, "Try coming in here and saying that."

"Blow me," the guard said, pushing the cart further down the aisle. While eating lunch the young man was already making a mental hit list for when he got out of jail. Regardless of the result of the trial Alexander was determined to regain his freedom and when that happened a lot of people would pay a dear price for humiliating him. The time for playing nice and trying to figure things out on the fly was over. It was time for Alexander to start taking charge of his own life again and would either do so or die trying, this human was no one's slave.

About an hour after lunch the sound of the door to the jail opening drew his attention and in short order two mushroom guards appeared escorting another older looking mushroom dressed in a crisp three-piece suit and briefcase in one hand.

"Who the hell are you?" Alexander said.

"My name is Alister Barns, I'm to be your legal representation for the trial this afternoon," Alister said.

"This afternoon?" Alexander said. "Isn't this a bit hasty, I only arrived this morning."

"You've been unconscious for the last four days dumb ass," a prisoner said, one cell over. Resisting the urge to reply in kind Alexander focused his attention on the mushroom as the guards brought a table and folding chair for him to sit in out in the hall. Considering Alexander's rather violent clash with Mario it was no surprise they weren't letting Alister into the cell.

"Right," Alexander said, sprawling out on the cot. "What am I charged with?"

After setting the briefcase on the table Alister opened it and removed a number of papers, "One count of illegal entry into the Mushroom Kingdom, two counts of capitol theft for attacking the wagons carrying items intended for Princess Peach."

"Wait a minute, what proof do they have that I was even involved in that?" Alexander said.

"One of the wagons driver wasn't quite as dead as your team thought she was," Alister said. "One count of attempted capitol murder and thirteen counts of capitol murder. Now in regards to Cape Boomer you've been charged illegal entry into a city under the sovereign jurisdiction of the Mushroom Kingdom, an additional fifteen counts of capitol murder, capitol theft for stealing the gold bullion, and last but not least, grievous assault against a servant of the throne for your little tussle with Mario Bartonelli."

"So are they already building my gallows?" Alexander said.

"The Mushroom Kingdom set aside the death penalty centuries ago, however I would suggest you take these charges more seriously. If convicted on all counts I can tell you right now that you'll be spending the rest of your life in a cell no bigger than this," Alister said.

"Do I look like I CARE?!" Alexander said, coming up off the cot. "Since arriving in this damned world I've been attacked, beaten, imprisoned, pressed into service against my will, attacked, beaten, imprisoned, and now I'm on trial for something I wanted no part of in the first place. Please feel free to enlighten me on how this could get any worse than it already is!"

"Wait a minute, back up, you were pressed into service by the House of Koopa against your will?" Alister said. Letting out a low sigh Alexander took a seat once more and carefully recounted all of the events since his arrival in Mushroom World, including how he got here in the first place. At this point he didn't care what Ludwig might think and just spelled it all out including the threats against his life, how he was almost killed by Roy, all of it.

"That's pretty rough," Alister said. "However if what you say is true I think I may be able to get you exonerated from the charges or at the very least a reduced sentence. Do you have any way to prove anything you've told me?"

"You know, personally this all stinks of a set-up to me," Alexander said.

"Excuse me?" Alister said.

"From the way I see it I've already been tried and convicted. This is all just a horse and pony show for the sake of the public before I'm locked away in some deep dark cell for the rest of my life. Besides, why the hell would a Mushroom person want to defend me after I just got through killing a few dozen of your people. At least according to these charges anyway," Alexander said.

"For your information Mr. Magnus, I'm regarded as one of the best lawyers in the entire kingdom. I was hired by the throne to ensure that you receive a fair trial because of the severity of the crimes you've been charged with. Of the two-hundred sixty-three cases I've tried, forty-eight of my clients were citizens of the Dark Lands charges with various crimes both minor and grievous," Alister said.

"Really, and how many of those forty-eight walked?" Alexander said.

"Forty-five," Alister said. "I can bring you the case histories if you like." Already Alexander liked this mushroom, he didn't take crap off anyone and spoke his mind, that was something to be respected. If everything Alister said was true than it seemed there might be a decent chance of coming out of this in one piece.

"Is there anything you can provide as evidence to support what you've said regarding your service to the House of Koopa?" Alister said.

"As a matter of fact," Alexander said, snapping his fingers. "Tell the guards you want to see my wallet. I have a New York State driver's license that was renewed three days before I came here." The two continued to talk for a time after that but the license was the only concrete piece of evidence that Alexander could provide, which would at the very least establish a time line for the series of events as they took place. After that he finally started to calm down slightly realizing that the situation might not be as hopeless as it first appeared... at least until Alister returned half an hour later.

"So did you find my ID?" Alexander said.

"Yes... I did," Alister said. From the tone of the mushroom's voice and the way he was looking at the sheet of paper held in one hand it was obvious something was wrong. When the lawyer turned the piece of paper around for Alexander to see the young man's jaw hit the floor. In a flash he almost leapt at the bars snatching the piece of paper out of Alister's hand.

[IMG] albums/af37/Antaus/Koopa%20Stories/idcard_ [/IMG]

"What the hell?!" Alexander said, almost shouting in the process. "This isn't mine!"

"It was the only identification in your wallet, I had the guards check twice," Alister said.

"I don't... how... what..." Alexander said. The young man's hands began to shake as he dropped to both knees seeing what small chance their might have been for making it out of the situation evaporate. At first there was nothing but despair as Alister walked out of the jail, Alexander couldn't understand why all of this was happening to him. The mental strain from everything had finally reached the breaking point. As tears began to roll down Alexander's cheeks his psyche finally began to crack, then shatter. The emotional maelstrom that followed was uncontrollable and soon all the years of hatred, rage, and anger buried deep down inside surfaced.

Like a madman unleashed Alexander tore his cell apart ripping the cot to pieces, tearing the metal mirror, sink, and toilet from where they were bolted in place until the cell was drenched by water gushing from the broken pipes. All the while screaming loud enough for the entire jail to hear. When the guards finally responded they found Alexander standing with his back to the bars drenched from head to toe. Both hands were clenched into fists that were dripping blood from where he'd sliced them on sharp pieces of metal.

"What are you doing?!" a human guard asked.

With a small grunt Alexander looked over his shoulder with a wild eyed expression, "The cell was just so drab I thought I'd redecorate a little. Like the new look? I call it springtime incarceration."

"What the... have you lost you mind?" the guard asked. That question only brought a cackling laugh from Alexander and approaching the bars he looked at the guard.

"That's a good question, have you found one recently?" Alexander said. Because of the damage caused to the cell the guards were forced to relocate him to another. Again they were baffled by Alexander's behavior as he skipped down the hall, hands cuffed behind the back, humming a tune. After the guards left the young man blinked hard several shaking his head.

"Get it together Alexander, now's not the time to lose it. There has to be a way out of this," Alexander said, talking to himself. The only thing that even held his psyche together was a good two hours of meditation. Although Alexander never put much stock into metaphysics he found meditation to be very refreshing both mentally and physically. The next time Alister appeared it was shortly before the trial. After Alexander gave the guards several assurances that he wouldn't hurt the lawyer the two were allowed to walk side by side down the hall in order to discuss how things would go at the trial.

"The first thing you should know is your trial will be presided over by Princess Peach herself," Alister said.

"Don't they have jury trials in Mushroom World?" Alexander said.

"Normally we do, however word of the Cape Boomer incident has already been leaked," Alister said, approaching the front door of the jail he opened it showing a crowd of angry people waiting outside that began hurling fruit at Alexander. "We've found a slight bias in the local jury pool."

It took more than a dozen guards to part the crowd so that Alexander could walk the quarter mile to the princess' castle. The sight of the castle's rising towers set against fields of green grass and a midday sun was beautiful enough that for a moment the young man forgot about the gravity of the situation. That was remedied by a rotten tomato to the side of head. A young mushroom woman started to come toward Alexander shaking her fist angrily until he jerked to one side letting out a loud snarl, following this she screamed and disappeared back into the crowd.

Even on the way to a trial he wasn't about to be intimidated by anyone. The time for fear was over and Alexander held his head high walking the short distance to the castle. Inside the main hall the differences between this and Koopa Castle were stark in comparison. Unlike the Dark Lands the princess' castle appeared bright and cheerful with polished marble floors bright pink banners bearing the symbol of a mushroom and instead of tall golden statues the image of former rulers were displayed with portraits along the walls. There was also a noticeable lack of wealth displayed within the castle. Alexander had no doubt that the House of Toadstool had money, they apparently just had no desire to display it in an outright fashion.

Not far from the main hall was the throne room in which Princess Peach sat atop her throne, only here the raised dais in the back of the room was square instead of round. The throne for the princess was also smaller and made of fine linen and wood instead of gold and jewels like Bowser's. That however was not what Alexander was focused on. The young woman seated directly ahead of him was one of the most beautiful examples of the female gender he'd ever laid eyes on. Her long blond hair and deep blue eyes set against a pair of gentle pink lips almost made Alexander's heart skip a beat and it didn't take long for him to mentally undress the princess. Next to the throne was Mario along with another human dressed in green that was no doubt Luigi, and a short but oddly stocky mushroom that appeared different from the others. There were guards lining the walls along with two tables for the prosecution and the defense near the throne room doors. Lastly there was a chair for witnesses off to one side near the bottom of the dais.

To see a turtle sitting at the table for the prosecution was no surprise to Alexander, he'd already figured out there was a degree of migration in both directions between the neighboring kingdom's citizens. In a quiet and reserved manner he took a seat next to Alister at the table for the defense and waited for the trial to begin. The air in the room was highly charged and the tension could be cut with a knife.

"Hear ye hear ye," Peach said. "This court has been convened in order to address charges placed before the defense. Will the defendant please rise and state his full name for the record."

"No," Alexander said.

"What?" Peach said.

"You already have all of my information on file, can we just get on with it already?" Alexander said. The belligerent attitude being displayed surprised Alister and he leaned over whispering that it would be best to follow the forms and do as the court asked.

With a sigh Alexander stood up, "Alexander Franklin Magnus, there, happy now?"

"Mr. Magnus, you have been charged with one count of illegal entry into the Mushroom Kingdom, three counts of capitol theft, one count of attempted murder, twenty-eight counts of murder, illegal entry into a city under the sovereign jurisdiction of the Mushroom Kingdom, and grievous assault against a servant of the throne. How do you plead?" Peach said.

"Blow me," Alexander said.

"Mr. Barns, will you please control your client? The throne is not inclined to condone any further insults of this nature. One more outburst and I will hold Mr. Magnus in contempt," Peach said. After another short and whispered exchange between the two Alexander agreed to stop acting out in court, the last thing he wanted was to end up in jail again. Now that the trial was underway Alexander wanted to get it over with as soon as possible regardless of the outcome.

The last comment was taken as a plea of not guilty and once the formalities were out of the way the trial began in earnest. While on the way to the castle Alister had explained that it wasn't likely to take all day. This was due to there were only two witnesses to any of the alleged crimes, the wagon driver who survived and Mario. That put Alexander to mind that the justice system here in Mushroom World appeared to be a lot swifter than Earth where some trials took months. Even in the Dark Lands he was tried and acquitted in less than an hour. Alexander paid little mind as the female driver and Mario took the stand to give their statements regarding the events surrounding the attack on Cape Boomer.

What the young man did find amusing was how Alister demolished the eyewitness accounts. While Alexander was there, Mario never actually saw him do anything before their confrontation. As for the driver the lawyer was able to force her to admit that from the angle she was sitting at she never actually saw him do anything aside from run at the guards. So far the prosecution had nothing but circumstantial evidence at best. The prosecution brought forth crime scene photos showing the bodies of the victims and again Alister was able to dismiss this as circumstantial as well and that nothing directly pointed to Alexander as the culprit in any of the alleged crimes.

"I call Alexander Magnus to the stand," the prosecutor said. Already briefed before the trial the young man knew that in the Mushroom Kingdom the defendant in a trial could be called to the stand to testify. That was also something else that bothered Alexander, not knowing the legal system to his own liking. During part of the discussion between lawyer and client they covered how to handle this part of the trial.

The prosecutor was an older turtle in a simple green shell with a sagging face. Instead of immediately diving into a round of questions he walked back and forth looking at Alexander in a damning expression. In response the young man flexed his chest and wiggled both eyebrows. This resulted in a strange look from the turtle then he finally spoke.

"As Mr. Barns has done such a wonderful job of dismantling the evidence I have presented here in court, I have only one question. Mr. Magnus, did you in fact kill anyone during the course of the attack against Cape Boomer?" the turtle said.

"Sure did, four," Alexander said. Though the response drew a surprised look from the turtle, this was to be the opening to Alister's defense of his client's actions.

"So you admit to murdering at least four people?" the prosecutor said.

"No," Alexander said.

"But you just said..." the prosecutor said.

"I killed them in self defense," Alexander said.

"Now hold on, you expect the court to believe that you snuck into our land under the cover of darkness, attacked one of our cities and then killed four people in self-defense?" the prosecutor said.

"Yes," Alexander said.

"Please, by all means continue. I have got to hear the rationalization behind this," the prosecutor said. Just as Alister had said the turtle took the bait giving him free rein to fully explain the situation. It took more than an hour, but just like did in the jail cell Alexander recounted the course of events beginning with his arrival all the way up to the attack on Cape Boomer. He also made it a point to emphasis that all of this was done under duress and threat of violent retaliation by Prince Ludwig if refused.

"That's a really sad story and I might just believe you if it wasn't for one thing," the prosecutor said. Taking a piece of paper out of his shell the turtle held it up for the court. "Here in my hand I hold a copy of a Dark Lands Identification Card for one Alexander Magnus, issued more than a year ago."

"Objection your majesty, my client has not only claimed that this identification card is a fraud, the prosecution has put forth no evidence to the contrary," Alister said.

"I contacted the Dark Land's embassy before the trial began, they sent me verification of this evidence earlier this morning," the prosecutor said.

"Why was I not made aware of this?" Alister said, glaring at the turtle. "Again I object majesty, this evidence was not properly disclosed to the defense."

"I sent a copy of all of this to your office this morning," the prosecutor said.

"Majesty, I request a brief recess," Alister said.

"Granted," Peach said, "the court will be in recess until after lunch. We will reconvene at one." It was easy for Alexander to see that Alister was upset by this turn of events almost as much as he was. The court was in recess and the young man was returned to his cell eating lunch there, which was much like breakfast. During the meal Alexander also thought about the situation trying to figure out how that identification card got in his wallet in the first place, the entire situation stank. In silence he ate trying to think the situation over to make any sense of it. It wasn't until a few minutes before court would again be in session that Alister came to visit his client.

"Well?" Alexander said.

"The packet with the evidence in it was at my office just as the prosecutor said," Alister said. With the packet in hand the lawyer looked down at it. There was no mistake that he was deep in thought about the events that were taking place.

"Is it just me or does this whole situation stink?" Alexander said.

"It's not you, I know for a fact this packet wasn't at my office this morning. I didn't become one of the best lawyers in the kingdom by making such amateurish mistakes," Alister said.

"You think the prosecutor is in on this?" Alexander said.

The only thing Alister did was shake his head, "No, Dave can be hard at times but he's a straight shooter, a by the books prosecutor. If he says he sent the packet this morning I believe him."

"If that's the case..." Alexander said.

"I know, either someone in my office or Dave's is dirty," Alister said. By this time they'd both drawn the conclusion that the packet was delayed to intentionally undermine the defense.

The trial resumed not long after that and again Alexander wasn't feeling too good about the outcome of the case. Alister reviewed the evidence at length and talked it over with his client. According to the information provided by the prosecutor the identification card was issued just over a year ago. There was also no way for them to disprove this meaning Alexander could no longer claim that he was just an innocent bystander caught up in this whole mess.

By this point there wasn't much left to do, Alister couldn't refute the evidence against Alexander, so the lawyer did the only thing he could. He explained to the court about how his client claimed to have been unwillingly pressed into service for the House of Koopa. This also acted as Alister's closing statement for the case. The prosecutor also spoke briefly about how the evidence in the case was clear, that Alexander was an operative for the House of Koopa caught in the act and that he was now desperately trying to escape punishment. When Princess Peach retired to consider the verdict she would render the atmosphere in the court was as highly charged as it had been to begin with. No one spoke or moved around very much. The princess remained in her personal chambers for almost an hour. Upon her return the entire courtroom stood to hear the verdict. Almost immediately Alexander's heart sank when the princess looked at him, the expression on her face said it all.

"After careful consideration of all the facts and the evidence brought before me here today it is clear the only thing that the defendant can be charged with is the four count of murder he openly admitted to. However it is the opinion of this court that Mr. Magnus acted willingly in this travesty and we thereby find him guilty as an accessory on all of the additional counts. I hereby sentence the defendant to one-hundred fifty years in prison without the possibility of early release," Peach said.

Ever so briefly Alexander was stunned by the revelation that Princess Peach had effectively sentenced him to life without parole. The resulting explosion of emotions sent the young man over the edge and he picked up the water pitcher on the desk hurling it. The makeshift projectile hit the princess in the head knocking her crown off and Alexander came over the table intent on attack, but only made it half way to the dais before being power tackled by the numerous guards in the room. Princess Peach was still recovering from surprise as he was dragged away still struggling.

"This isn't over you little whore, mark my words. I will become as a plague upon your kingdom the likes of which you have never seen!" Alexander said. "I will have my revenge!"

Outside the courtroom Alexander was so enraged that he broke loose of the five guards trying to drag him away twice, nearly killed one and severely wounded two more. He was almost free before another group of guards descended on the scene finally deciding it would be best to beat him into unconsciousness. When Alexander finally did wake up he was sore, bruised, and on a prison transport bus. The first thing to assault the young man was the smell, it was as if the bus also doubled as a bathroom, mostly by way of the smell of old urine. In the back there were two mushrooms, another human, and a turtle. The front of the bus was separated by a wire mesh wall with a single door behind which two human guards sat facing each other, and in front of them a hammer brother was driving. At first the only thing Alexander did was sit up glaring at the guards. After shifting around lightly he also realized that both hands were cuffed behind the back.

"Welcome back sunshine, enjoy your nap?" one guard said. Alexander looked over at the guard who was reading a magazine entitled 'Kingdom Weekly' with a picture of several mushroom people on the front. Both were dressed in chain mail hauberks covered by white tabbards bearing the House of Toadstool's crest on the front, secured by a leather belt around the waist. They also wore half helmets with daggers fastened to their waist.

"Go to hell," Alexander said.

"I imagine you'll get there first so just save me a seat," the guard said, never looking up from his reading.

"Your mother wears combat boots," Alexander said.

"Yes she does, the Major even made me shine them when I was a kid," the guard said.

That answer took Alexander by surprise, "Seriously, your mother's a major in the army?"

"Fifteen years," the guard said.

"Yeah well, you fell out of the ugly tree, hit every branch on the way down, then the tree fell on you," Alexander said.

"Oh well, we can't all be models," the guard said. Not only was Alexander in a bad mood upon waking up, the guard's complete lack of reaction to insults was only making him angrier.

"You suck!" Alexander said.

"Wake up in a bad mood did we?" the guard said, finally looking over at Alexander.

"Pretty much," Alexander said. The initial idea was to make one of the guards angry enough to come into the back of the bus thereby allowing an escape to be effected. However the guard was making that rather hard as he didn't seem phased in the slightest. That all changed when Alexander looked at the other guard who was staring him down. The man was so angry he was red-faced.

"Take it easy Jason, he's just trying to rattle you," the guard said.

"Say one more word and I'll pound your face into the floor," Jason said.

"Calm down, you don't need another excessive violence reprimand in your file," the guard said.

With a sly smile Alexander leaned over toward Jason, "I screwed Peach before the trial and she liked it, your princess is a whore."

"That tears it!" Jason said. The rather large guard nearly flew out of the seat and taking a keyring from his belt unlocked the door to the back of the bus. The first guard sighed and dropped his magazine as Jason yanked Alexander out of the seat by the collar of jumpsuit.

"Any last words?" Jason said.

With a smile Alexander brought both hands up with the broken pocket clip from a pen in the left, "I know how to pick a lock."

In the flurry of motion that came next it was hard to see what happened, but in short order Alexander had the guard down on the seat behind him. Then grabbing the dagger on Jason's belt four deep stab wounds to the chest ended his life. The first guard, now in a near panic, tried to push the door open to get to his friend. Alexander stood up and smashed both hands into the door knocking the guard back and he fell into the stairwell of the bus. In a flash he was on top of the other guard, but decided not to use the dagger. For some odd reason in the back of Alexander's mind he liked the man's calm attitude and instead removed the metal helmet and beat him unconscious with it. With one guard dead and the other down for the count he stood up looking at the driver.

"T-Take it easy, I got a wife and two kids," the driver said.

"Pull over," Alexander said. As instructed the driver pulled the bus over and was immediately ejected along with the two guards. Now in control of the prison transport Alexander closed the metal door to prevent anyone else from coming up front and took off in the driver's seat. Like a maniac he drove down the dirt road noticing that much like the rest of the kingdom there were large fields of green grass on either side of the bus set against a clear blue afternoon sky.

"The wipers on the bus go swish swish swish, swish swish swish," Alexander said. At this point the stress from everything that had happened to him since arriving in Mushroom World was beginning to surface again. While singing made up tunes and swerving on the road the other prisoners didn't realize that their new driver was undergoing a complete mental breakdown and no longer in complete control of himself.

"How's my driving, call 1-800-PISS-OFF, hahahahaha!" Alexander said.

"Take it easy man," the human prisoner said, standing at the door. "You're gonna get us all killed."

"What, you don't like my driving?!" Alexander said. "Then you're really going to love this!" In a quick motion he jerked the wheel to one side and with the bus already at seventy-five the chance in direction was enough to flip the bus and send it tumbling along the road, rolling six times before coming to a stop. Once everything finally calmed down Alexander was laying upside down against a wall with both feet draped against the floor.

"Okay, so maybe that wasn't one of my brighter ideas," Alexander said. Allowing himself to fall over the young man looked around to see that all of the other prisoners were unconscious, save for the turtle who was dead with a large piece of glass protruding from the neck. The door was laying against the ground so the only way out was through one of the shattered windows. It didn't take much effort to climb up and once on the side of the bus Alexander looked around to see some small containers scattered across the ground. It wasn't hard to figure out they were the personal possessions of the prisoner and among them was a black leather suit. Although Alexander wasn't fond of the suit Ludwig had given him it was better than prison red. About to jump down he noticed one of the mushroom prisoners trying to climb through a window.

"Have you lost your friggin' mind?" the mushroom said.

Alexander started to stomp on his head until the prisoner feel back into the bus, "Bad fungus, no cookies for you!"

After changing back into the black leather suit Alexander looked around realizing he had no idea where anything was or how to get back to the Dark Lands. The one thing he did know is that like Earth the sun here rose in the east and set in the west. Using that he started to walk north knowing that the Dark Lands took up the entire northern border of the Mushroom Kingdom. If one walked in that direction long enough they would run into it. It would be some time before anyone realized there was something wrong so Alexander took off to the north determined to return to Koopa Castle. In the beginning the only thing the young man wanted to do was return home, but after this latest series of events that all changed. Now Alexander was focused on revenge. In his mind the trial was nothing but a horse and pony show for the public, and the verdict had been determined before one foot was ever set inside the courtroom. Even if the fake identification card had never shown up Alexander was convinced the verdict would have been the same.

Service to the House of Koopa may not have been pleasant, however it did offer him the chance to strike back at Princess Peach. Then there was the matter of being set-up. Alexander now knew without a doubt that someone was trying to get rid of him and that this someone was no doubt Wendy. It was the only scenario that made any sense. Ludwig still had a use for him and the other koopa princes were mostly ambivalent toward his presence. Wendy on the other hand had done nothing but spit venom and insults at him from day one. Princess or no there would be a reckoning when he got back.

The green fields continued on without any end in sight making Alexander wonder just how deep into the kingdom he was. For the rest of the day the walk continued until the sun began set in the east as the last golden rays of light spread across the land the stars and triple moons could be seen overhead. By this time Alexander was already becoming hungry but there was nothing eat. The Mushroom Kingdom would be out in force looking for him no doubt. Hunger wasn't the only problem facing the young man either, after everything else that happened he was quite fatigued. To try and sleep out in the open would have been stupid, so he headed for a small group of trees in the distance.

There were no more than a few dozen mixed with what appeared to be tall mushrooms the size of trees. After ensuring there was nothing else hiding Alexander laid down on the ground. It didn't take long for him to doze off which was a surprise in light of recent events. By now it was well into the night and Alexander's sleep was dreamless if not very comfortable, the ground was cold and hard causing him to shift from time to time as laying in one position for too long would cause aches and pains. By the next morning Alexander didn't feel much better than before and now most of his body was sore. To seemingly top things off the morning dew from the grass also made him wet.

"I hate my life, I really do," Alexander said. The other thing that brought him back to the land of the conscious were stomach pains that only continued to increase in frequency and intensity. Now sore, stiff, and hungry Alexander took a moment to stretch and complain some more before moving out. Like the day before the trek north was a relatively quiet one though it was harder than before, while not in danger of starvation yet the lack of food was beginning to sap Alexander's strength. The part that bothered him the most was knowing a little about biology and the fact that when a person began to starve it wasn't fat the body went after first, it was muscle mass. If Alexander didn't find something to eat today it might start to become a problem.

As luck would have it shortly after noon he came across a solution to this very problem. While walking through a field Alexander heard the sound of voices and quickly dove behind a large rock to avoid being seen. The first thought to go through his mind was that soldiers were out looking for him. That changed when he started to listen to what they were talking about. It sounded like everyday people just out and about and the more Alexander heard the more he knew it was a family. Peering out from behind the rock he noticed that it was only three mushroom people, a man, woman, and young boy. However it was what the man had in his hand that caught Alexander's attention... a picnic basket.

The only thing on his mind right now was getting into that picnic basket and eating everything. From his place behind the rock Alexander watched as the family spread a blanket on the grass while laughing and talking. As the food started to be set out that was all he needed to see. Under normal circumstances Alexander might have walked up and asked for something to eat, however this was anything but normal. Instead he stood up and walked over to where the family was sitting, taking a spot on the ground. Without a word Alexander looked around at the variety of sandwiches and side dishes set and began to help himself.

As one might imagine the family was taken aback by this and at first no one said anything. Alexander quickly ate half a sandwich and was reaching for another when the father started to say something. Nary a word escaped the mushroom's mouth before he was backhanded across the face and laid out on the ground. The mother and child let out a shocked gasp and their expressions of surprise turned to that of fear seeing how readily violent their new guest was. Because of this there were no more interruptions as Alexander ate. Even as hungry as he was the young man was no idiot and kept an eye on both of the mushrooms. While using the lid of a thermos to take a long drink of milk he noticed the mother make a quick motion behind her back.

To the sound of a metallic ring the thermos was used as a makeshift club to knock the woman unconscious and a wand flew up from her hand. Alexander dropped the lid and caught the wand in the air, pointing it at the woman. Though a weapon he had no idea of how to use now seemed as good a time as any to test it out. Almost immediately the young boy let out a loud cry and threw himself in front of the woman.

"No, don't hurt my mommy," the mushroom boy said. It was easy to see he was no more than four or five years old.

"How about I just fry daddy instead?" Alexander said.

"No don't! Why are you being so mean?" The mushroom boy said. "Don't you love your mommy and daddy?" That caused Alexander to stop and think about that very thing for a moment looking down at the wand his memories drifted for a moment. What came to the surface was not welcome and quickly pushed aside. Childhood was something Alexander tried not to think about very much as there were few happy memories involved.

"I never knew my parents," Alexander said.

"I feel sorry for you," the mushroom boy said.

"I don't want you pity!" Alexander said, snarling at the child. Thoroughly disgusted by the whole situation he there was no reason to stay, so taking some more food for the trip he left. That in mind Alexander walked off trying to clear his mind of unpleasant thoughts. The only thing that seemed to work was trying to figure out how the wand was operated. It was little more than a brass rod that expanded at the top to accommodate a red dome shaped head. While he wasn't familiar with magic Alexander had read a lot of fantasy books, though nothing but fiction it did give him a place to possibly start. While walking through the field he waved it several times to start with and naturally nothing happened, it would obviously require more than random swinging.

About the only thing Alexander really gathered from the fantasy novels he read was that a wand like this would require concentration to function properly. The next idea was to hold the wand out and imagine energy flowing through his arm into it. When the tip sparked gently Alexander about threw the wand not expecting a reaction so quickly. He stopped and looked at the wand for a moment then tried the same process over again. This time Alexander didn't try to throw it when the tip began to spark, energy quickly built up and discharged through the tip in a not so refined manner. The energy arced in just about every direction possible. When it struck Alexander in the hand it stung but he didn't drop the wand.

"Man, there's more to this magic crap than I imagined," Alexander said. Not only was it hard to focus the blast, backfires hurt. One final time Alexander tried to focus another blast of energy, this time imagining it going in a straight line. The discharged did go forward but it was still rather chaotic. There was also the fact that Alexander could feel a small drain on his body with each blast which told him rather quickly that the wand was powered by the caster. Getting too magic happy would undoubtedly wear a person out. More concerned with getting back to the Dark Lands and stomping a mud hole in a certain princess Alexander stuffed the wand into the back of his uniform and continued walking. Without even being able to see dark clouds on the horizon this would no doubt be a long walk.


	6. Chapter VI

The next morning when Wendy woke she sat up, stretched, and let out a loud yawn thinking what a wonderful day it was to be a koopa. As always a small group of servants came scampering into the room shortly thereafter and helped the princess to prepare for the day. They applied make-up, held out several different variations of her necklace, shoes, bow and bracelets, all of which Wendy was quite happy to choose from. The unusually happy demeanor seemed to put everyone off and the servants exchanged odd looks, all the while Wendy thinking to herself that they had no idea. Today would be a good day and for once the princess was eager to have breakfast with the rest of the family.

Normally she wasn't too fond of eating with seven brothers who laughed like idiots, belched like foghorns, and topped it off with the occasional fart. Today however she was eager to see Ludwig at breakfast, so after dismissing the servants the dining hall where they royal family took breakfast was her first destination. Wendy made it a point to be a few minutes late so everyone else would be there when she arrived. The loud raucous noise of everyone trying to talk over each other was nothing new, however Ludwig's silence was. Normally the prince would be eating and joining in the numerous conversations taking place all at the same time. Instead he seemed rather withdrawn this morning and would occasionally glance over at the empty chair next to Larry.

It wasn't that Ludwig actually missed Alexander like one might a friend, he'd put a lot of effort into turning the human into his personal plaything and to have it suddenly not be there was obviously upsetting. It was something Wendy relished. Without a word the princess sat down taking a plate and served herself like everyone else. Right now all Wendy wanted to do was point and bust out laughing but that would have given things away, so she acted like it was just another day at the castle. It didn't take long to feel the heat from Ludwig's hateful glare and despite her best effort a tiny smirk appeared. To see her brother so angry while not having to deal with that human was simply delicious.

That wasn't the only thing that was delicious either, breakfast seemed to be unusually flavorful and so Wendy helped herself not only to seconds, but thirds as well. She well knew there would be a plethora of threats regarding retaliation later on, but the one thing Ludwig was almost never able to do was prove anything. There were only two instances in the past where Wendy had been caught red-handed and both of them were minor slip-ups that only got a stern growl from Bowser. Breakfast lasted for almost an hour until there was almost no food left on the table and like every morning when things finally started to die down the family took a few minutes to let the food settle. Then to top things off Roy belched loud enough to rattle the dining room doors.

"Do you actually practice or are you naturally so crass?" Wendy said, leaning over to look at her brother. Roy's only response was to look over and let out another belch, albeit considerably smaller. When Iggy strained to let out a power fart at the table Wendy decided it was time to leave. While they may have acted like royalty in public her brothers had absolutely no class in private and seemed to actually enjoy being disgusting. On the way out Wendy lamented to herself how it hard it was to be the only woman in the royal house some days. Out in the hall she only made it a few feet before hearing quick footfalls from behind. About to say something Wendy was spun around by the arm to face an exceptionally angry Ludwig, to which she jerked away.

"Get your hands off me," Wendy said.

"Insolent woman, do you have any idea what your vain meddling has brought about?" Ludwig said.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Wendy said.

"Think me not a fool dear sister, I can well see your hand at play in this," Ludwig said. To see her brother this mad was quite entertaining. So often Ludwig tried to pass himself off as being able to handle anything, but deep down Wendy knew he was as volatile as any other koopa. Instead of immediately answering she took a moment to brush off the touched arm, then looked up to give a very casual response.

"And what if I did, it's not like you'll ever be able to prove it," Wendy said. "Besides, the castle's a lot better off without your little dungeon monkey running around like he belongs here."

"This has nothing to do with a human running around the castle you moron, you've really crossed the line this time," Ludwig said. That response actually gave Wendy pause to think something really was wrong. She could recite from memory the number of times Ludwig had become angry enough to let his sophisticated appearance falter enough to talk normally.

"I... don't understand," Wendy said.

"Of course you don't, the only thing you ever think about is yourself," Ludwig said. "Alexander wasn't just some little pet project I took to because I didn't have anything better to do. That dungeon monkey was suppose to be a weapon to help us conquer the Mushroom Kingdom."

"A weapon?!" Wendy said.

"That's right a weapon, trying thinking for once in your life. The first time Alexander showed up he trashed two of the royal guard, beat a hardened criminal into the ground while working at the mine, and even managed to knock two of Roy's teeth out. That human is the only one I've ever seen that even comes close to having the potential to bury Mario," Ludwig said, then let out a low sigh. "Though I estimate that such will no longer be a factor in future calculations."

The last sentence was an indication that the prince was finally starting to reign in his temper. When Wendy thought about everything he'd said she started to feel bad. Not because she'd screwed over Alexander or Ludwig, but when looking at things from his point of the view the princess finally started to see the bigger picture. While there was a lot of fighting, backstabbing, and double-crossing in the family, the one thing Wendy never wanted to do was inadvertently help the Mushroom Kingdom. She hated the House of Toadstool every bit as much as the others and lived to see that day that it was burned to the ground.

"I never really thought about it like-"

"So does this mean I don't get any milk and cookies," Alexander said. The sound of his voice brought about a rather different reaction from the both of them. When Ludwig looked over he was about to greet Alexander like an old friend until seeing that the young man had several slash and puncture wounds to the chest and arms, appeared to be using two pieces of a spear shaft tied together as a crutch and was about to fall over. Worst of all there was a broken spear protruding through his upper left leg.

"What the fu-" The expression on Wendy's face spoke louder than words as the princess looked at Alexander in both shock and disbelief. If this had been a cartoon her jaw would have hit the floor with a metallic ring.

"Alexander, you appear utterly horrible," Ludwig said.

"Yeah, nice to see you too. Now could someone call a doctor because in case you haven't noticed I have a SPEAR sticking out of my leg," Alexander said. As Ludwig took a cell phone out of his shell and quickly called a doctor Wendy was still in a state of shock. After all the work and effort she went to in order to get rid of him, that repugnant human was standing no more than a few away like it was just another day at the castle. Now it was the princess who was getting incredibly angry to the point of letting out a low growl. The medics showed up in a short amount of time and as Alexander was loaded onto a stretcher by several turtles he began to talk with Ludwig about what happened. Wanting to know about this as much as anyone else Wendy followed along.

Alexander explained the whole series of events starting with the mission to Cape Boomer, then went into detail about losing the fight with Mario, being imprisoned, and finally brought to trail. The small group moved through the castle listening to the young man explain his escape and finally how a spear ended up sticking out of his leg. Not too far from the kingdom's border he encountered a mushroom guard patrol that was looking for him and naturally a fight broke out. There were seven in total and Alexander, fighting with all of the anger and determination he could muster managed to disarm one of them and kill the rest, but it was obvious the fight wasn't one-sided. Once back inside the kingdom he was able to get help returning to the castle.

It was enough to nearly make Wendy scream after everything she'd gone to trying to get rid of this human. While the princess remembered the earlier conversation with Ludwig there was still a part of her that wanted him gone. They eventually ended up in the castle infirmary where a mushroom doctor began to inspect Alexander's spear wound while two nurses used wands to heal the other injuries. It took a lot of work and magic on the doctor's part to ensure that the wound wouldn't bleed once the spear was removed. Then when he was about to do just that Alexander stopped him.

"If you don't mind this is something I've been wanting to do for the better part of a day now," Alexander said. To see the young man curse like a sailor and fall over backward after ripping the broken spear out of his leg was enough to draw a light smile from Wendy, who was leaning against the wall near the door watching everything that happened. Now it was a mental battle between which the princess wanted to see more, the House of Toadstool burn, or the human. There were quite a few other ideas going through Wendy's mind about how to get rid of him. As tough as Alexander appeared it might just require an outright assassination to get rid of him, it wouldn't be the first time she'd given such an order.

Thinking on this for a moment she noticed the doctor was about finished healing the hole in the young man's leg. The excitement was over for the time being so Wendy decided to leave and figure out what to do about the situation and something would have to be done, useful or not having a human running around the castle just wouldn't do. Outside in the hall she'd just reached a large circular room leading back to the main part of the castle when the sound of heavy footsteps came up quickly from behind. Without warning Wendy was grabbed by the arm and spun around, then caught a left hook to the jaw before even being able to see anything. Staggering back Wendy fell down utterly shocked by this, it took a moment to realize Alexander was standing behind her.

"You... you hit me!" Wendy said.

Taking another step forward Alexander leaned down, "Oh I'm going to do a lot more than that you stuck up little reptile. If you think you're going to try to get rid of me and then just walk away, you're dead wrong. Although I have to say the identification card was a nice touch."

"You'll be lucky if I don't have you killed for this," Wendy said, standing up she looked to the guards around the room who were already about to spring into action. "Arrest him."

"Belay that order," Ludwig said, walking up behind Alexander. "To what identification card are you referring?" The identification card that was presented at the trial was still among Alexander's belongings when he recovered them from the bus wreck. Removing the wallet from a back pocket he took it out and handed it to the prince. Ludwig looked the card over for a moment then folded both arms giving his sister a look that could kill.

"Nice touch indeed, guards maintain your positions. Alexander, I believe there was something you wished to discuss with my sister." When Alexander tilted his head to one side causing the neck to crack Wendy realized how dangerous things were about to get. Up to this point she'd considered the human nothing more than a nuisance, but now having seen first hand what he was capable of surviving that opinion was quickly changing. Having to fight a rather angry and unpredictable opponent Wendy's first reaction was to draw a wand, only to have it kicked out of her hand.

This took the princess off-guard and she was pushed onto the defensive as Alexander came forward with several rapid punches. Though pressed to do so Wendy was able to slap away the attacks and tried to counter with a fist to the chest. Alexander twisted to the side kicking her in the back of leg, dropped to one knee a heavy punch to the back of the head floored the princess. Although Wendy was trained in a fighting style taught only to the royal house known as Kep-rin, she preferred magical combat. The princess' close quarters training was out of practice and it showed.

"Come on little princess, there's gotta be more than that. I was hoping for a real fight," Alexander said.

"You son of a-" Wendy said. The moment she stood Alexander swung out with a fist coming up short, and the princess realized this. With surprising speed, as he started to twist around and duck, Wendy lunged and grabbed. In mid-maneuver Alexander was stopped and served a heavy knee to the gut letting out a grunt before being falling to the floor. This time as he rose the princess tried a move from earlier. Wendy came at Alexander with a series of rapid jabs much faster than his own in an attempt to overwhelm with sheer speed. Instead of the attacks being slapped away a few were deflected before a straight kick to the gut landed the princess on her butt.

"Screw this," Wendy said. Upon standing she took in a deep breath and focused, waiting for Alexander to attack. This time he tried a straight forward bull rush and moments before impact energy began to collect around both her hands. Throwing them forward there was a bright burst of light that threw the young man against the far wall with an audible thud. Quite pleased with the result Wendy smirked and waited for him to get up. This time she held out her left hand forming a ball of fire just above the palm letting it slowly grow in size.

"I think it's about time we play this little game my way," Wendy said. Instead of throwing the fireball she reached forward dropping it on the floor. When the small projectile landed it spread out into a thin line before erupting into a wall of fire that surged forward as Wendy threw both hands out. Having just gotten up Alexander looked at the attack wide eyed and dove to one side along with two guards who were in the way as well. A loud explosion followed as the fire slammed into the wall leaving score marks along with small chucks of stone debris on the floor.

"What- how the hell did you do that without a wand?" Alexander said.

"Energy Science 101 you primate moron. Wands aren't required to use magic, they just make it a whole lot easier," Wendy said. There was truth to the princess' words as wands weren't required for magic, but without one it was a harder to focus and took considerably more energy to accomplish the same task. With a slight smirk Wendy stood there waiting and just watched as he let out a growl and charged a second time. The distance between the two closed rapidly and when Alexander swung at her face, the attacked passed through an image that quickly faded. The illusion caused considerable confusion on the young man's part giving Wendy the time needed to recover her wand, then with a simple wave of it he was hurled against another wall. Like a sack of potatoes Alexander hit the floor similar to when he'd first arrived.

"Okay... that hurt," Alexander said.

"Of course it hurt you pathetic human, I'm not the second most powerful user of koopa magic for nothing, now get up. I'm not finished with you," Wendy said.

"Second, who's first?" Alexander said, looking up from the floor.

"That would be daddy dearest," Wendy said. Rising from the floor Alexander drew his own wand and quickly fired. The attack took Wendy by surprise as the bolt of raw energy ripped across her chest causing the princess to stagger back with a yell. Then as a second bolt lanced forth she held out a hand catching the energy and focusing it, then fired back knocking Alexander into the wall a third time. Now both combatants were stunned as Wendy held her chest and leaned forward with a pained expression. Though the attack was crude in design, one of the problems with beginners is that they often didn't know how to regulate energy and ended up dumping too much into an attack. While it drained a person quicker the attacks were also a lot stronger. At this point Wendy's chest burned and breathing felt like inhaling a mouth full of fire.

Alexander was the first to recover and by the time she raised the wand he managed to succeed with a power tackle, once again both combatants were without wands. Wendy, on bottom, caught his fist before it impacted with her face and refused to let go. Though she may have been physically smaller, Koopa were pound for pound three times stronger than a human putting them on a superior footing in terms of raw power. With a quick twist Wendy rolled over on top headbutting him in the face followed by two right hooks before things devolved into rolling around on the floor, with a series of snarls and brutal punches until both were physically worn out and barely able to move.

The fight finally ended when Alexander pushed Wendy off of him and both of them laid there in the floor feeling as though they'd just been hit by a car. This fight also proved something the princess had known for some time now. While she may have been well versed in the magical arts her physical combat were sorely lacking. This was something that made fights, like this, difficult when dealing with opponents who fought by quickly closing distance and with unorthodox techniques. Close quarters combat were something Wendy would need to work on in the future, but for now she was still furious over being fought to a standstill.

"Now that was a most unexpected outcome to such a confrontation," Ludwig said, leaning over Wendy from behind. The only response she gave was to aim a finger and fire a bolt of energy that put the prince on his shell.

"Ow," Ludwig said. With a simple hand motion Wendy summoned one of the guards who collected her wand along the way and helped the princess limp down the hall. The amount of pain coursing through her body was intense, while the physical attacks hurt it was the blast of energy that had done the most damage. This also started to make Wendy worry because the pain wasn't subsiding like it should have, it was possible the attack had done more damage than originally thought. In her room inside the royal residential wing Wendy collapsed onto her bed holding out a hand as the guard started to leave.

"Call the... doctor. I think I might... be seriously hurt," Wendy said.

"Yes majesty," the guard said, bowing as he left. The pain was reaching the point of sheer agony as tears started to roll down Wendy's face. Now more than ever she hated Alexander and after today she didn't care what plans Ludwig might have had. After an insult of this magnitude that human would die, slowly and painfully. It seemed like an eternity before the family doctor walked into the room carrying a small black bag with him. Like all mushroom people he was short and wore the same large white hat with red dots, but was dressed in blue slacks with a white shirt and matching coat.

"You summoned me princess?" the doctor said.

"Rigel you have to do something, the pain, it won't stop," Wendy said. It took a considerable amount of concentration on the part of the princess not to roll around on the bed and instead sit up. Naturally she explained the course of events leading up to this along with the attack that seemed to inflict so much damage. Now with her hands shaking, remaining still was almost impossible until Rigel took something out of his bag and reached up touching her neck. There was a small stabbing sensation and the doctor caught Wendy as she fell over. The pain was gone but the princess started to panic realizing that she couldn't move.

"W-What did you do? I can't move," Wendy said.

"Don't be frightened princess, it's an acupuncture nerve block. You'll be able to move just fine when I remove the needle, it was the quickest way I could think of to relieve the pain," Rigel said. The doctor then positioned Wendy so she was laying on the bed, head on a pillow, to be able to see everything that went on. The medical check-up began like all others that didn't require emergency treatment, first Rigel checked her pulse rate, blood pressure and temperature writing everything down on a small notepad. The next part was rather embarrassing for Wendy, carefully sat up her shell was removed for a visual inspection of the injury.

"Pardon me princess," Rigel said. Being naked on the bed while a mushroom doctor looked her over wasn't a pleasant experience, however she did notice that the scales where the attack struck were slightly discolored.

"What the?" Wendy said.

"Hmm," Rigel said. "That's not good, you said that Alexander fired an unfocused blast of energy at you?"

"Yes, but I don't see how this could have happened," Wendy said. Now able to see the damage first hand she understood why the pain wasn't subsiding, and was starting to wonder if this had been a set-up by Ludwig. Unlike Mushroom magic that was mostly defensive and healing in nature, koopa magic was offensive and destructive. Being well versed in the magical arts she now knew that the attack had incorporated a type of energy specifically designed to cause extensive muscular damage. It's primary purpose was to cause pain and debilitation without killing. Either Ludwig had taught his little pet how to do this or it was an almost unbelievable stroke of luck to happen accidentally. It wasn't unheard of for people randomly firing wands to channel different types of energy unintentionally, but this was almost impossible. The worst part is that the damage could be healed but the pain would have to wear itself out over time.

By this time Wendy was mentally cursing to herself about the whole situation, Rigel was already carefully tending the injury with a wand. The doctor had been in the employ of the House of Koopa since Bowser's father was king and only one of two mushroom people who lived in the castle, the other being the young woman who was Wendy's personal servant.

After the damage was repaired Rigel gave his patient an injection to help with the pain and removed the needle. Able to move again the first thing Wendy did was put her shell back on, she was also given a prescription for pain medication because it would take a couple of days to fully recover from the injury. As Rigel walked out the first thing on the princess' mind was dealing with her close quarters combat problem. In order to do that Wendy would need to speak with Master Endijo. The turtle in question was a master martial artist and the only one outside the royal family to know Kep-rin. The style was taught only to one person who would eventually choose a successor and teach it to them so the secrets could be passed on to the royal family.

Still being careful as she walked, the princess thought about that for a moment. There were two separate disciplines to the fighting style as well, Tesch which focused on power, and Zekca which relied on speed. The princess was one of the smallest in the family so naturally she learned the Zecka discipline but it had been a long time since it'd been put to use.

What a lot of people didn't realize is that over the centuries Koopa Castle had been slowly expanded to the point of nearly being a small city unto itself. There were administrative offices, housing for the staff, the royal residential wing, a not so small barracks for the castle guard, multiple conference rooms, a grand dining hall and that didn't take into consideration the many underground facilities. Most people walking about the castle nodded respectfully to Wendy but paid the princess little mind as they went about their business. As she walked down a set of stairs leading to a sub-level of the castle it spread out into a large open room with two halls at the end and a hammer sister who sat behind a desk against the far wall. The walls to either side were lined with a few plastic plants, chairs, and some rather bland photos.

"Good afternoon majesty, may I be of assistance?" the hammer sister said.

"Do you know if Master Endijo is here?" Wendy said, approaching the desk casually.

"Why yes he is, I believe he's just about finished with a class," the hammer sister said. Without another word Wendy walked down the hall to the left. There were several doors lining both walls and the princess knew them well. There was the pool, officer's club, gym, chess club, and more, though the dojo was Wendy's destination. Though Endijo held the secrets of Kep-rin he was also a master of several other common styles and made a good living teaching them to the soldiers. As she approached the last door at the end of the hall Wendy leaned against the wall to avoid the crush of students who were leaving. Once the hall was clear she walked into the dojo which bore a striking resemblance to the Asian styles of Earth. The large open room possessed rice paper walls covering the normal gray stone decorated with faded leafing designs. There were several wooden training dummies in the back and at the front was a low table set with pillows. Master Endijo had just sat down to a bowl of rice and beef which were being eaten with chopsticks when he noticed the princess and stood with a deep bow.

"Princess Wendy, to what do I owe the honor of this visit?" Endijo said. The turtle appeared to be rather old with a sagging face and deep set blue eyes. The most notable difference with Endijo is that he wore a white karate gi without sleeves instead of a shell. Though old he still possessed a lean but muscular frame.

"I want to make an appointment to do some training, my skills are getting rusty," Wendy said.

"I see, my schedule is free for the rest of the afternoon and I was just about to eat lunch, would you like to join me?" Endijo said, motioning to the table. The thought of eating reminded the princess that it was close to lunch time so she accepted the invitation and sat down at the table across from the turtle. The only other thing aside from the beef and rice was saki and the two ate in silence. It wasn't uncommon as Endijo was a turtle of few words. Once the meal was finished Wendy stood and walked into the middle of the room waiting. Endijo followed and walked around her a few times as if making some sort of inspection.

"Now then princess, what is it that you wished to relearn?" Endijo said.

"Close quarters combat, I've started relying too heavily on magical combat and I've let my other skills... falter as a result," Wendy said.

"Come then, allow me to study your technique," Endijo said. The turtle then took a step back assuming a fighting stance with his left arm and leg extended forward, right arm held up almost vertically behind the head. This was a classical Kep-rin stance utilizing Zekca style which Wendy was trained in. The princess then mimicked the stance and dashed forward bringing a leg up for three rapid side kicks. The turtle blocked the first two strikes in a casual manner, then caught the leg on the third and tossed Wendy to the floor.

The princess rolled, stood, and came forward again, this time with several sweeping punches before building enough speed to begin spinning around and continue attacking. Now instead of blocking, Endijo, with both hands behind his back, ducked, dodged and stepped back a few times making it obvious the master was not being pressed to defend himself. The turtle reached out slapping Wendy on the side several times during the offensive indicating he could have landed several counter attacks had this been a real fight. Next the princess almost caught Endijo by surprise with a front flip bringing her leg down, but was deflected at the last second.

"That is not Kep-rin," Endijo said.

"No, but you were the one who taught me to be unpredictable," Wendy said.

"Very true, however I don't think your problem is merely lack of practice. I noticed that you are also fighting with great anger. One cannot utilize Kep-rin to its fullest if they allow anger to cloud judgment. I know that is also something I taught you, one of the first in fact," Endijo said. "You come to me to learn again and fight with anger, why is this?"

The one thing the princess didn't like about Endijo was how easy he picked on things. The turtle wasn't just a master combatant, he was also a master of reading people and discerning motives.

"Because I nearly lost a fight to a human today and it shouldn't have turned out that way. I'm a master of magic and a fifth rank Kep-rin student. I should have been able to take him down easily," Wendy said.

"So it is for the sake of wounded pride that you fight," Endijo said. Before Wendy was able to answer an explosion rocked the castle shaking the dojo. Both looked at one another with a look of surprise before the princess took a cell phone out of her shell and dialed a number. The phone rang several times before another explosion shook the castle a second time, only this one was much stronger. At first Wendy thought it might be some sort of accident as both Iggy and Ludwig had laboratories where accidents occasionally resulted in castle shaking explosions, however two so close together like this was anything but normal. Wendy and Endijo both took off through the hall where they noticed dozens of guards rushing out of the others rooms, then they heard someone yell something about an attack.

The explosions most likely originated from the courtyard so they both ran in that direction. Moving up the stairs to the ground level Wendy could see dozens of armed guards rushing toward the front of the castle with commanding officers who were yelling orders. Though it looked like absolute chaos the princess knew it was the castle guard moving into position, but more curiously she wondered who would dare to attack them. The House of Toadstool were pacifists who only used violence in self-defense, the Bean Bean monarchy had no reason to attack and Bowser had just signed a ceasefire agreement with Sarassaland last year. Along with the Dark Lands those were the four major powers in Mushroom World and none of them had been openly at war for some time now.

Outside Wendy was confronted by a sight she couldn't even begin to explain, there was a massive hole in the castle's curtain wall where purple robed creatures had used a portable bridge to cross the lava moat and attack. The strangest thing about the situation is that the invaders were roughly the size of Mushroom people wielding a variety of edged weapons in both hands and were flooding into the courtyard at a staggering rate. The soldiers were forced to fight on a piecemeal basis while trying to form rank to push the enemy back. For just a brief moment Wendy felt a sense of pride at the army seeing them fight with spear and sword in a way that matched the invader's ferocity. With Endijo standing there next to the princess they nodded to one another and dashed forward joining the growing conflagration.


	7. Chapter VII

Laying there on the floor Alexander let the princess leave without trying to stop her, largely because he was too worn out. Regardless he felt the point was made rather clearly, however the young man was no fool, he knew this wouldn't end here. Wendy was a proud person and considering how much the koopa hated him before, she would probably try to outright kill him after this. After a minute or two of resting he stood slowly and came face to face with Ludwig who had just recovered from Wendy's non-verbal response.

"I must say the outcome was most unexpected my friend, prior to-" The sentence was cut short when Alexander headbutted the prince and glared at him, taking a step forward. Seeing the look in his eyes Ludwig started to reach back for a wand but stopped short when no attack came.

"Your friend? First you press me into service against my will, attack me, force me to undertake a mission I want no part of and I almost get killed for it? Make no mistake prince I am not your friend, I just had my talk with the princess, yours will come soon enough," Alexander said.

"Where are you going?" Ludwig asked, as he started to walk away.

"To speak with the king about something," Alexander said.

"Speak with him about what?" Ludwig said.

"Something!" Alexander said. The prince wasn't happy to see him walk off like that, though at this point any attempt at intervention would not have ended well. With everything that was going on Alexander's anger was to the point he couldn't really control it anymore. The confrontation with Wendy did help to alleviate some of the stress but there was still a lot to be worked out. Now the problem facing the young man was finding Bowser, Koopa Castle was huge and he was normally in the throne room only when required. One of the guards, when asked, made a call on his cell phone saying that Bowser had retired to his personal chambers. This also required directions as Alexander had never been there before. The king's room was in a separate tower by itself with a long set of circular stairs leading up to a small hall with a large orange steel door at the end. On either side were a pair of hammer brothers that looked like smaller versions of Roy with scars enough to show their battle prowess. Before approaching Alexander smirked a little thinking that Bowser was probably ten times worse than either of them in battle.

"I request permission to speak with his majesty the king," Alexander said. One of the two guards knocked on the door before entering and disappeared briefly, then returned a short time later motioning for him to enter. This was the first time for Alexander seeing the king's personal chambers which were decorated with a variety of tables, desks, a small wet bar near the bed, and interestingly a chess set with gold and silver pieces near the door. There was a large canopy bed against the back wall with a round wooden table set in the center of the room but the most interesting sight was the king himself. Bowser's shell was hanging on the wall next to the bed and he was dressed in nothing but a pair of sweat pants with a hole in the back for his tail. This gave Alexander pause as the koopa sovereign was every bit as large and muscular as he appeared to be with a shell.

"You wished to speak with me, drink?" Bowser said. At the moment the king was standing at the wet bar pouring himself a scotch on the rocks.

"Sure," Alexander said. Another drink was poured and set on the table as Bowser took a seat and motioned to another opposite him. Silent at first Alexander took the drink and downed it trying to think of how to phrase his words. Bowser, even in a casual setting, was an intimidating sight and a king as well so being careful of what one said was very much in mind.

"I want to serve the House of Koopa," Alexander said, speaking plainly.

"You want to serve the House of Koopa, are you not already in the service of my son Ludwig?" Bowser said. The idea of being in 'service' to Ludwig brought about a low growl from Alexander which caught the king's attention, but he said nothing.

"If you want to call it that, what I mean to say is that I want to serve you directly if you would be willing to accept such," Alexander said. At this Bowser leaned back in his chair looking the young man over carefully. It was easy to see that he was taking some time to think about the matter before answering. For a moment Alexander was surprised when the king held a hand toward the wet bar and the same bottle as before lifted up floating in their direction. Then he remembered Wendy's comment about her father being a powerful magic user. Another drink was poured into both glasses and while Alexander wasn't normally much of a drinker, the scotch was very smooth going down. It came as no surprise that a king would have the very best.

"You offer is an interesting one because I believe my son was right about your potential, however before I would consider your request you will need to secure release from the oath of servitude you swore to my son," Bowser said.

"I never took an oath," Alexander said.

"Don't play me for a fool Alexander, anyone who directly serves a member of the royal family must first take an oath of servitude and loyalty," Bowser said. That's when something in the back of Alexander's mind clicked and he realized that Ludwig hadn't told his father about the nature of their arrangement. While he didn't know if slavery was legal here or not, it still stood to reason that Ludwig had tried to pull a fast one and that raised some interesting questions. As such Alexander thought about what he would say next very carefully.

"I never swore an oath of loyalty to Prince Ludwig. After my little 'sparring match' with Roy in the courtroom, he came to me in the medical wing to discuss my service to him. And I quote: You are to be my personal weapon against some of the most implacable enemies our kingdom has ever known, the brothers Bartonelli. Though you still require considerable refinement I believe you capable of, in time, bringing about their downfall which is an event the whole of the House of Koopa would see," Alexander said. "That is what he said to me verbatim. I have near perfect recall memory, I see words."

There was a long silence between the two as Bowser looked at the young man. It was hard for Alexander to tell if he was considering what had been said or if he was about to come across the table. There were times it was almost impossible to read Bowser's facial expression but the eyes said much more. Behind them there was a fire that told of a sovereign only a fool would take lightly. In the short amount of time that he'd been in the Dark Lands, Alexander had learned that Bowser was powerful, intelligent, and a magic user of incredible caliber, not a being he wanted to cross.

"Forced servitude was outlawed in the Dark Lands almost a thousand years ago and the charges you have leveled against my son a quite serious. For that reason I will give you this one chance to recant your statement," Bowser said.

"I may be many things but a lair is not one of them, I stand by my words," Alexander said.

"So be it," Bowser said, looking toward the door he called one of the guards who entered presently, "Summon Prince Ludwig, I would speak with him." The silence that followed was nerve wracking because Alexander knew it would turn out to be a matter of his word against Ludwig's, but a chance to see the prince squirm under his father's glare would be worth it regardless of the outcome. Several minutes later Ludwig entered the room and from the look on his face the prince wasn't very happy to be here.

"You wished to speak with me father?" Ludwig said, bowing respectfully. At first Bowser said nothing, merely staring at his son which only seemed to add to the tension in the room. This was an interesting turn of events as Alexander well knew what the king was doing, he was letting Ludwig stew for a minute to wonder what all of this was about.

"Your friend Alexander has just made a most interesting offer, he wishes to serve the House of Koopa, more specifically he wants to serve me directly. However because he has already sworn an oath of loyalty to you I cannot accept. Therefore I summoned you here to ask if you have any objection to this," Bowser said. That drew an odd look from Alexander considering their prior conversation but he simply went along with it assuming the king knew what he was doing. This was further evidenced when Ludwig became visibly nervous.

"Objections, no... I have no objections," Ludwig said.

"Very well, bring forth the one who witnessed the oath so that it may be dissolved," Bowser said. It was then Alexander saw the trap for what it was, he didn't know that oaths had to be witnessed and with none being offered there was no witness to bring forth. At this point he couldn't help but look at Ludwig with a smile spreading from ear to ear, the prince was trapped and they both knew it. When the prince started to offer an almost stuttered response Bowser slammed his fist down on the table shattering it like cardboard. This sent Alexander leaping out of his own chair from surprise.

"Have you taken leave of your senses?" Bowser said, rising from his chair. "Forced servitude was outlawed centuries ago, if word of what you've done here were to ever get out the damage to this house would be catastrophic. It's taken me almost two decades to undo the damage my father reaped upon the Koopa name and now you go behind my back to do something like this?!"

"Father I-"

"Be silent," Bowser said, his tone was calm but the menacing undertone was unmistakable, enough so that Ludwig gulped audibly. Alexander wasn't quite sure what was going to happen as the king walked around the room taking a deep breath and rubbing his chin. "You have suspended the civil rights of another person in violation of the laws set forth by this house, forced him to undertake tasks that have almost resulted in death, and nearly made me look a fool. That you are my son is the only reason you're not in chains right now boy."

"Not that I mean any disrespect, but I thought the House of Koopa ruled with full autonomy. Wouldn't that put them above the law?" Alexander said.

"In theory yes, but those who make laws by which they don't abide are also known as hypocrites. Under my rule this house WILL lead by example," Bowser said, pointing at the floor, "I am the only one able to supersede the law and as he is not yet king, my son is still bound by them." By that statement Alexander gained a new respect for the koopa sovereign. To have absolute power over a kingdom and yet still abide by the laws set forth took incredible self-discipline and dedication to serve those that were ruled over.

"Forgive me father, in my zeal to see the Mushroom Kingdom fall I overstepped the bounds of my authority," Ludwig said, taking a knee and bowing his head.

"That you have. Alexander, I hereby release you from service to my son without fear of retaliation. If you wish to return home you may do so, if it really is your desire to serve the House of Koopa we can discuss that after this situation has been resolved," Bowser said. "Do you wish to pursue legal charges?"

Now it was Alexander who found himself in something of a quandary, there was a part of him that wanted to see the prince forced to face justice and be humiliated in court. On the other hand he knew how damaging something like this could be to Bowser's public image and the koopa sovereign had done nothing to offend him. When Alexander thought about it the truth was that the king had been quite fair with him in the past during their brief dealings. Now it was a matter of choosing between revenge and harming someone he was beginning to see as a good ruler, or letting the matter go and possibly seeing Ludwig walk away. Even with all of the hatred and anger Alexander was feeling at this point there was still a part of his conscience that said to just let it go.

"No," Alexander said.

"No?" Bowser said.

"I don't want to pursue legal charges because of the how it would damage the image of your house. Despite what's happened between your son and I, you've not wronged me and I wouldn't see the House of Koopa hurt for my own personal revenge. However I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to put my foot so far up his butt," Alexander said, pointing at Ludwig, "that he'd be coughing shoe leather for a month."

"A most interesting analogy, however I digress. In light of your desire not to press legal charges my son will not be brought before the courts, which leaves his punishment in my hands," Bowser said, looking down at his son. Once more the king lapsed into deep thought before finally reaching his decision. "Alexander, did you come here today seeking service to me, or freedom from my son?"

"Both," Alexander said.

"Very well, because you have pressed Alexander into service against his will, you punishment shall be as follows Ludwig. For the same number of days that he served you, you will, within reason and barring risk to your own personal safety, serve Alexander as his behest," Bowser said.

"WHAT?!" Ludwig said. When the prince looked up it seemed as though he was about to object but a sharp glare from Bowser held the silence.

"Dismissed!" Bowser said. As Ludwig nearly left a trail of fire out of his father's room, Bowser once again took a seat in front of the destroyed table and motioned for Alexander to do the same, which he did. In the conversation that followed Alexander explained to the king about everything that happened during his court case in the Mushroom Kingdom, save for the false identification card. This also included how he felt his court cause here, however strange, was still fair and that Princess Peach had already convicted him before the case even started.

"If it is out of a desire for personal revenge that you wish to serve, then I am not inclined to accept your offer. Service to the House of Koopa is not just an honor it's a privilege. Anyone seeking to serve this house should do so out of a desire to see it, and by extension the people and this land, prosper. Not because they have a vendetta against someone," Bowser said.

"That's not the only reason," Alexander said. Looking down slightly he was hesitant to speak on this particular matter because it was very personal, and opening up to someone who was almost a complete stranger wasn't a very comforting idea. It felt almost like stripping naked in front of a crowd of people.

"Go on," Bowser said. The other reason Alexander didn't want to speak about this was because it involved mentally reliving part of his childhood, something that was never a pleasant experience. Yet without doing so would most likely mean his dismissal from service. With a sigh Alexander, without going into detail regarding childhood, explained how for many years now he seemed to have lost both focus and purpose and life. Everything in life was bland and without excitement, even daily life was more of a mechanical routine becoming akin to a mere existence than actually living.

"How does this bare relevance to your desire to serve me?" Bowser said.

"Because despite being attacked, beaten, jailed, and nearly killed, the House of Koopa has given me something I haven't felt for many years... passion. Where there was once nothing but emptiness, there is now a burning desire. I... I actually feel something again. I don't know how or why but I feel alive," Alexander said.

"And what is it you would do with this new found passion?" Bowser said.

"I won't lie to you, there is a part of me that wants revenge against Princess Peach, very much so. That woman tried to take my life away from me. Yet there's a part of me that genuinely wants to serve. We may not have known one another for very long but I already think you're a good king and I would be honored to serve you," Alexander said. "So would you be willing to accept my service for both reasons?"

"This desire for revenge that you so willingly admit to gives me pause, however as I said earlier I can see within you the same potential as my son and I feel it would be foolish to simply cast you aside. For this reason I say to you, I will accept your service on the condition that you control your passions. You are not the only one with grievance against the House of Toadstool. However there is a time and place for everything, including revenge, and such will be at my discretion not yours," Bowser said.

"I understand," Alexander said.

"Now I would like for you to explain to me why you lied about Wendy," Bowser said.

"Come again?" Alexander said, looking at Bowser with a confused expression. That last statement had him at something of a loss as Wendy hadn't even come up during the course of their conversation.

"The court case in the Mushroom Kingdom, you failed to mention the false identification card she planted in your wallet. Be it by active deception or omission a lie is a lie," Bowser said.

"How... did you know about that?" Alexander said.

With a sly smile Bowser held both hands out as if to indicate everything around him, "This is my house after all."

"Wow, uh... because after fighting it out with her not too long ago I didn't want to throw jet fuel on a fire?" Alexander said. "I was going to bring it up, I just wanted to let the princess cool down a little first." When Bowser held out a hand the card was passed off and the koopa sovereign held it up to the light for a careful inspection.

"Good photo, proper seal, it even has the holographic logo, this is definitely Zemo's work," Bowser said. That made Alexander realize that the king knew a lot more about the inner working of his own land than some might think, both legal or otherwise. He also made a mental note to never underestimate the koopa sovereign's intelligence. The card was stuffed into a pocket after that and Bowser then called for one of the guards to summon someone by the name of Minister Telman, and for him to bring paperwork for an Oath of Loyalty. Several minutes later and middle-aged magi-koopa, dressed in deep purple robes, walked into the room carrying a small folder and bowed.

Bowser stood and looked to Alexander, "If you still wish to serve the House of Koopa, take a knee."

At this the young man felt a rush of excitement and did as commanded, both because he was about to enter the service of Bowser, and because there was still a lot about the Dark Lands and it's people that had yet to be learned. This would likely be the greatest adventure of Alexander's life... if he lived through it. With that also came a dawning realization about the koopa people. They weren't human, they didn't think, act, or behave like humans and it would take a long time to adjust. That Alexander had fought Wendy to a standstill and Bowser hadn't tried to grind him into the floor for it spoke of the social and cultural differences between the species.

"I do hereby declare my desire to serve the House of Koopa and its rightful sovereign King Bowser Koopa. That I shall, to the best of my abilities, support, defend, and uphold the laws of this land, the welfare of its people, the safety of this house, and those that reside therein.

That I will support and defend this kingdom against all enemies both within and without.

That I will ever be mindful of the House of Koopa in my words, deeds, and actions, knowing that to act in a manner that is contrary to this is punishable by dismissal, imprisonment, or death.

That I will take up arms in defense of this house should I ever be called to do so, fight in the name of the koopa people, and if it should be required of me for the safety and continuance of the kingdom, lay down my very life.

All of these things I swear of my own free will and in perpetuity, without deception, coercion, or persuasion," Bowser said.

"These things I swear," Alexander said. After the oath was taken he, along with Bowser and Minister Telman as witness, signed the paper bearing the same statement that was administered verbally.

"Now in regards to another matter, because Alexander is from Earth I need you to draw up paperwork for his citizenship. Under the circumstances I think we can forgo the oath of citizenship however as he's just sworn basically the same thing here," Bowser said.

"Yes majesty," Telman said. The magi-koopa collected the paperwork and was about to walk out when a massive explosion shook the room causing all of them to stop and look at each other. Then a second larger explosion nearly knocked Alexander off his feet. Before anyone could say anything one of the Hammer Brothers outside the room leaned in with a cell phone to his ear.

"Majesty, the castle is under siege!" the Hammer Brother said.

"Here's to taking up arms!" Alexander said, dashing out of the room. In a flash the young man was down the stairs and running toward the source of the explosion which seemed to come from the outer courtyard. Upon reaching ground level he was forced to fight through a crush of soldiers that were running through the halls of the castle all bearing arms and yelling loudly as they spilled out of the main keep's two massive front doors. The sight outside brought Alexander to a halt.

"What the holy hell?" Alexander said. In the courtyard there was a massive hole in the curtain wall as purple robed figures poured over a portable bridge used to gap the distance over the moat. They carried a variety of jagged and wickedly shaped weapons and were forcing the soldiers to fight in single combat as they tried to form rank. Not sure what to do Alexander heard a low sound and tried to figure out where it was coming from. The noise grew louder and seemed to be coming in his direction until the steady thudding was recognized as heavy footfalls against the floor.

"Get out da way!" Roy said. With barely the time to avoid being mowed down Alexander dove to one side and looked up to see the koopa prince run into the courtyard and through a group of the invaders, plowing them down like a wrecking ball. There was also a considerable change in fighting style, unlike their match in the courtroom that was orderly after a fashion, Roy was now fighting like a savage unleashed. Slashing, punching, stomping, snarling and literally tearing robed figures apart with his bare hands Alexander got a first hand look at how the prince truly fought and it wasn't a pretty sight.

He also saw Wendy in the courtyard wielding her wand with a deadly grace watching as it flashed with each invader that approached turning them into piles of ash. After the princess cleared a path she stood there for a moment, free hand held back, and concentrated forming a ball of red energy in the palm. After it grew to the size of a beach ball Wendy threw it and with an incredible rumble it rolled across the courtyard continuing to grow in size and crushing any invader it touched until hitting the curtain wall and exploding.

The entire scene appeared to be complete chaos as fighting took place all over the courtyard with koopa, hammer, turtle, goomba, and more doing their best to keep the invaders at bay. This appeared to only be a stopgap measure though as they were pouring through the hole in the wall in greater numbers and anyone who tried to attack the bridge was cut down in a matter of seconds. The battle came to Alexander when one of the robed creatures leapt at him weapons bared. The young man ducked and as the creature came about he stomped on a sword laying on the ground flipping it into the air. Catching the weapon Alexander waited for it to make another leap, then spun to one side and brought the sword down cutting his opponent in two at the waist.

As he waded into the fight on behalf of the Koopa the young man wondered if all battles were this chaotic. Alexander could barely tell what was going on and was nearly blindsided twice as he cut through robed invaders. Having never used a sword before he quickly picked up on the enemy tactics, they weren't very skilled with weapons either, but the lack of ability was compensated for in sheer number. Outside Alexander could see hundreds, possibly thousands more surging toward the castle, if something wasn't done soon this would turn out to be his first and last battle.

The koopa soldiers were finally able to form rank with the front row using swords to cut down enemy soldiers while the back rank supported them with spears. The problem now was that so many invaders were pouring in that some leapt over the soldiers into the courtyard itself and soon a trickle turned into a downpour. About to go after this new wave of enemies with some of the soldiers Alexander heard a woman scream and looked over to see Wendy. One of the invaders had bitten into the arm the wand was held in and tossing it into the other the princess pressed it against her attacker incinerating it in a burst of flame. Unfortunately her forearm was also badly burned by what was an attack of desperation and green blood was already dripping from the bite wound.

Another robed figure hurled itself at Wendy only to be vaporized along with two others until one of them jumped onto her shell and bite down on the princess' neck. Seeing this Alexander ran forward drawing his own brass wand, as others converged to attack he aimed and fired another crude blast that struck several invaders who jerked around as if electrified for a moment before hitting the ground. Able to vaporize the robed figure biting her neck Wendy fell to the ground holding it with one hand. Now free once more Alexander looked over to see the princess collapse onto her back as blood flowed too freely from the neck wound. From the look in Wendy's eyes he could see she was going into shock. The attack had torn through Wendy's carotid artery and it would only be a matter of minutes, if that, before she bleed to death.

"Ohcrapohcrapohcrap, want am I going to- HELP, SOMEBODY HELP, THE PRINCESS IS HURT!" Alexander said. In desperation he tried to press down on Wendy's neck to stop the bleeding and looked up to see a young turtle come rushing over wand in hand. The most notable thing about him was the white armband bearing a red cross signifying a medic. The turtle, who seemed unusually calm despite the chaos, held the wand close to Wendy's neck and muttered a small mantra. The tip of the wand started to glow a dull white just as a hurled sword struck the turtle in the chest killing him. Alexander looked back to see one of the invaders rushing forward and in anger he fired another blast of energy, only this time out of extreme anger.

The attack was almost three times stronger than the one used against Wendy causing the invader to explode into several chucks that landed with wet splatters. Again Alexander looked around not seeing another medic in sight and almost jumped when grabbed by the arm. It was Wendy and looking down he could see the fear in her eyes as she barely managed a tiny 'help me'. Almost in a panic now Alexander held the wand out and tried to repeat the mantra the turtle had said but to no effect. Then it occurred to him that being so nervous was probably the reason it didn't work. There on the battlefield Alexander took several deep breaths trying to calm down, then repeated the mantra a second time while mentally imagining energy flowing through his arm.

This time the tip of the wand began to glow unsteadily at first, then a dull light appeared. It was weaker than what the turtle medic had been able to do but after what seemed like several minutes, in fact being closer to ten seconds, Wendy sat up. The princess' neck was still bleeding but the steady flow had been reduced to a slow trickle. After coughing Wendy put her hand against the wound twice checking to see how badly it was bleeding. Realizing that she was no longer in immediate danger of dying the princess looked over at Alexander and nearly tackled him with a hug.

"Thank you!" Wendy said. Moments later three more medics appeared and pulled Wendy free. As they rushed her into the castle Alexander followed them to make sure there were no surprise attacks. Once Wendy was safely inside he turned back to the battle just in time to see Roy yell something and point into the air, at this every koopa in the courtyard took a knee. Not sure why Alexander did the same and looked up to see Bowser jump off a balcony more than sixty feet up, when the koopa sovereign landed he impacted the courtyard hard enough to cause a crater five feet wide, two feet deep, and caused a localized tremor that knocked the invaders to the ground.

The soldiers took advantage of the momentary shift killing numerous robed figures before they could recover. As Bowser stepped out of the crater he walked toward the hole in the wall where the soldiers were fighting. Two of the invaders tried to attack and the first was slapped aside like a bothersome insect with the second being caught in mid-air and ripped in two, all without Bowser breaking stride. Several more made futile attempts on the king's life learning a hard lesson about exactly how powerful an eight foot koopa really was. Near the breach in the wall Bowser held out both arms, then inhaled... One of the soldiers yelled something over the chaos of the battle and Alexander watched them part rank like Moses parted the Red Sea.

Not a second later Bowser leaned forward exhaling a wall of fire that ripped through the hole in the wall and across the metal bridge the invaders were using leaving nothing but ash and melted weapons in its wake. Several of the soldiers ran forward trying to use their weapons to dislodge the bridge without much luck, then Alexander almost had to do a double take at what came next. While the soldiers tried to dislodge the bridge Bowser reached down taking hold of the burning hot metal with his bare hands. Muscles strained and the king groaned loudly as the end of a thirty-foot metal bridge rose up a few feet before being pushed back and allowed to fall into the moat of molten lava that surrounded the castle.

"Good... lord..." Alexander said, speaking to himself. By now the rest of the invaders were being mopped up by the soldiers in the courtyard so he walked toward the opening in the wall to see what was going on. With the bridge gone the invaders were massing as the edge of the moat growling and snarling to continue the fight.

"What are you going to do about them?" Alexander said. Instead of immediately answering Bowser waited until the sound of massive rotor blades could be heard overhead and as the young man looked up a fleet of nine airships descending through the kingdom's ever constant cloud cover, each of them was roughly thirty feet in length with wooden hulls and enormous blades spinning at a high RPMs to keep them afloat, all save for the lead ship. It was closer in size to a naval aircraft carrier with a metal hull and once they were in range all of the ships opened up on the invaders with canons. Upon impact the shells exploded tearing the remaining invaders to bloody pieces.

While this was going on Alexander covered his face to protect from the flying debris while Bowser stood there watching with both arms folded like it was another day at the office. When the carnage finally ended the airships rose back into the clouds leaving the young man to look over the scene with shock and disgust at what was now little more than a field of blood and body parts.

"That," Bowser said. The only thing to come to mind was that after seeing these invaders, and a king that could breath fire, a fleet of airships didn't seem so strange after all.

"Majesty, I thought you should know that Wendy was badly injured during the fight. She had to be escorted back into the castle by medics," Alexander said. The king didn't say anything but the way he looked over showed there was worry in his expression and with a nod Bowser turned and headed back into the castle. As Alexander looked back he could see the rest of the princes had made it outside as well. Iggy was piloting what looked like a large metal exoskeleton with hands covered in blood, Larry was wielding a sword in one hand, wand in the other. Morton was holding what looked like a ball in chain in one hand save for the eyes and mouth that was gnawing on the body of one of the invaders, and Ludwig was walking inside while cursing to himself. Lemmy was holding the rubber ball he always walked around on that had been busted looking as if he'd lost a dear friend, and Roy, covered in gore, was carrying Bowser Jr who had a nasty ankle wound.

There were dead soldiers littering the courtyard and even more helping each other inside as the battle drew to a close and Alexander couldn't help but feel for those that gave their lives in service to their country. It was at times like this he couldn't look upon a scene like this and just see bodies. Near his feet Alexander saw the lifeless body of a Goomba wondering to himself who this was, it could have been someone's father, brother, son, only now they were dead. What family would be torn apart by his loss, who would cry for this brave soul? Now wasn't the time for those kind of thoughts so Alexander pushed them aside to focus on the matter at hand.

Having just been accepted as a servant of the king his place would be at Bowser's side gathering as much information as possible about the attack and figuring out what to do next. For once he didn't have to ask where to find the king, he would be in the medical wing of the castle seeing to the princess. The last thing Alexander did in the courtyard was look down at the sword realizing there was a name engraved on the handle. Remembering where it had come from he walked over to the fallen turtle matching the name to a set of dog tags and made sure to place the weapon in the soldier's hand. The castle was in a complete uproar with some soldiers being carted toward the medical wing with medics tending to them en route, some leaned on spears and hobbled, while others treated their own wounds either with magic or traditional medicine.

Beyond that as Alexander walked through the castle everyone seemed to be hurriedly doing something which came as no surprise, an attack on the castle was nothing to take lightly. The medical wing was a hive of activity with so many wounded soldier that those without critical wounds were slumped down in the hall waiting for treatment. There were a number of nurses trying to bandage wounds until they were treated. The royal family had their own private treatment area and Alexander was about to ask one of the guards for permission to enter when he noticed the door was open, hearing the princess' voice.

"...there was blood everywhere. I... I thought I was going to die. Then... Alexander saved me, I'm not sure how but he did. I was so scared dad," Wendy said. Through the door Alexander saw the king lean down and hug his daughter who was still crying as she sat on the side of a bed. When asking for permission to enter he made it a point to speak loudly as to be overhead and allow the royal family a moment to compose themselves. Upon entering Alexander saw the princess was facing the opposite direction, no doubt to hide her tears, and both Roy and Iggy were there as well. The last two obscured from view by the door. Trying to be polite and not mention anything about the situation with Wendy, he walked up to Bowser.

"Majesty, what were those things and why did they attack?" Alexander said.

"I don't have an answer to either question, I've never seen those things before," Bowser said. That was a statement Alexander found to be odd, as king of the Dark Lands he would at least be aware of the various species in Mushroom World and undoubtedly keep close tabs on any deemed a threat to the kingdom.

"Is there anything I can do to help? I'm still rather new here so I'm not 100% on everything yet," Alexander said.

"Not at the moment," Bowser said. "For now I'm going to be gathering information on these new enemies in order to determine our next move."

"Father, can Alexander and I speak privately for a moment?" Wendy said. With a nod Bowser walked out of the room motioning for Roy, Iggy, and the doctor to follow him. In light of their past encounters Alexander wasn't entirely sure what to expect from the princess, but she didn't appear to be hostile, quite the opposite in fact. Once the two of them were alone Wendy, whose neck was already healed, looked down at the floor and kicked her feet for a moment.

"Why?" Wendy said.

"Why what?" Alexander said.

"Why'd you help me back there in the courtyard, I haven't exactly been very kind to you," Wendy said.

"That's an understatement and a half," Alexander said, speaking mostly to himself. "But as to your question princess, we may have had our differences in the past and yes I've wanted to pound your head into the ground more than once, but that doesn't mean I want to see you dead. Besides, I just swore an oath of loyalty to your father to protect the royal house, the kingdom, and its people."

"Thank you Alexander," Wendy said. To hear the princess thank him surprised Alexander immensely and to his own knowledge it was also the first time she'd addressed him by name. "If there's anything I can do to repay you just let me know."

"You mean aside from not trying to get rid of and/or kill me?" Alexander said.

"Yeah... aside from that. Truce?" Wendy said.

"Alright, truce," Alexander said. "Now as to something you could do for me... who's that little Mushroom woman that follows you everywhere?"

"Lyla, she's one of my personal attendants, why?" Wendy said.

"I was just thinking, she's rather cute and well..." Alexander said. It took a moment for Wendy to get what he was talking about, then the princess tilted her head to one side. The expression on her face appeared to be disbelief mixed with a hint of revulsion.

"You got a Mushroom fetish or something?" Wendy said.

"Not so much a fetish, but coming from Earth the only sentient species there are humans. I'm interested in broadening my horizons," Alexander said. At first Wendy just shook her head, then seemingly chuckled at the thought of him with a Mushroom woman.

"If I do this for you it makes us even, right?" Wendy said.

"Absolutely," Alexander said.

"Alright, I'll talk to her, no promises though," Wendy said. Upon reflection Alexander realized that things were starting to change for the better on a personal level. Not only was Ludwig getting payback for his earlier treatment, Wendy had just called a truce. As Alexander walked out and the others started to go back in it would seem the princess still had an image to maintain.

"But don't think this makes us friends you overgrown primate," Wendy said.

"I wouldn't dream of it princess," Alexander said. Outside in the hall Roy was still leaning against the wall and snapped his fingers as the young man passed to get his attention. Curious as to what the prince could want Alexander turned around to see him with an arm stuffed into his shell rummaging around, and thought how odd it was that koopa used it as a storage space. It took a moment for Roy to locate what he was after and had to bend forward to widen the space between shell and back to remove a not so small brown cloth bag. It jingled with the sound of coins leaving Alexander somewhat surprised when the prince handed it to him.

"What's this?" Alexander said.

"It's yo share from dat job we wurked on, rememba?" Roy said. "Told ya I'd make sure yous got a fair share."

"Awesome, thanks," Alexander said. With everything that was going on he'd completely forgotten about the Cape Boomer heist and was glad that Roy had been good to his word offering a share of the take. From the size and weight of the bag there seemed to be a good amount of coins inside which would go a long way. The one thing Alexander had yet to inquire about was the amount and method of payment that would be received as a servant of the king, though he didn't feel that now would be the best time to ask about something like that. The main thing on his mind was trying to help. After taking the money to his room and placing it in a drawer Alexander returned to the medical wing and volunteered himself for service as a nurse. While he may not have had much experience with medicine it didn't take a doctor to apply disinfectant and bandages.

Alexander spent hours helping not only with applying bandages, any type of labor that didn't require considerable skill he helped with. By the time things in the medical wing calmed down it was past midnight and Alexander was completely exhausted. At this point in time the only thing thing on his mind was food and sleep and after raiding the kitchen for a quick meal and a power dive onto his bed, sleep followed quickly thereafter.


	8. Chapter VIII

Still shaken by the near death experience Wendy wasn't in top form as she woke up the next morning, but that wasn't what was troubling the princess the most. Since the first time he arrived in Mushroom World, Alexander had been a constant thorn in her side. Someone that Wendy absolutely detested the very sight of, first she'd tried to screw him over in the Mushroom Kingdom court case, then thoughts of having the young man outright assassinated followed after their fight. The princess had made no secret of her loathing and tried with considerable zeal to make his life in the Dark Lands absolute hell. Now in the midst of battle Wendy had come close enough to death to feel its cold grip around her heart, and when all seemed lost that same bothersome human had saved her life.

Now the princess' emotions were in a complete upheaval, there was anger, guilt, confusion and more. She felt guilty over having treated Alexander so badly after he had saved her life. Then there was anger directed both at herself and her savior. Wendy was angry with herself for feeling guilty and angry with Alexander for making her feel this way. It was all so confusing because there was a part of the princess that still hated him and now she hated herself for that very same reason. Now in a complete mental fog Wendy decided to drowned her confusion in the dining hall with an almost comically oversized chocolate sundae. Like many women of various species she often found comfort and solace in chocolate and now more than ever that was needed.

Though it rarely saw the light of day there was still a part of the selfish and self-centered princess that was capable of compassion and empathy. At this point Wendy stuffed a large spoon full of ice cream into her mouth wishing that it would just leave her alone. This was quickly followed by heavy breathing as the princess waved both hands in front of her mouth.

"Brain freeze, brain freeze!" Wendy said. After her mouth thawed out the princess went back to eating the ice cream more carefully and thinking over something completely different, the invaders. Because of her position as a member of the royal house Wendy was accorded the best education money could buy. Though not an honor roll student like Ludwig or Iggy she had learned a lot about Mushroom World including the various kingdoms and sentient species that inhabited them. These strange little creatures were unlike anything Wendy had ever seen, even Bowser wasn't familiar with them which said a lot. While scientists were still discovering new species every day this likely wasn't the case.

Following some considerable thinking Wendy, now half way through her sundae, decided not to worry about it too much. She was confident that Ludwig would put his vast intellect to work to find some answers, then once Bowser made a plan of action there would be hell to pay. Unless forced to do otherwise Wendy usually left the deep investigative thinking to those with the mindset for it. There was also another task to take care of, a promise that was made. It was rather odd in nature but if Wendy had learned anything from her father it was to keep a promise once it was made. Again removing a cell phone from her shell the princess sent a text for Lyla to meet her in the main dining hall.

With little delay the Mushroom servant walked into the dining hall bowing deeply to the princess. The young woman was only about 4'6" like most of her people but refrained from the usual pink that most wore. Having been born and raised in the Dark Lands the Mushroom woman preferred clothing suitable to her culture, in this case it was a red hat with white spots and a light green dress and vest of a deeper shade. Lyla had a nice figure and was well built, but kept her light blond hair in a bun under the hat making her appear almost bald with it on.

"You wanted to see me princess?" Lyla said.

"Yes, I have a rather odd situation to deal with. I owe a favor to Alexander, the human who arrived here recently, and I was informed of what he wants," Wendy said.

"You need me to go to into the city and fetch something?" Lyla said.

"No, not quite. What he wants is, well... you," Wendy said.

"He wants me as his servant?" Lyla said. The Mushroom woman was visibly confused by this which annoyed Wendy. While a good servant Lyla wasn't the sharpest spike on the shell when it came to thinking.

"More specifically your body," Wendy said. Once again it took a moment for things to register in Lyla's head, then she smiled.

"Really?" Lyla said.

"Yes, however because of how personal in nature this is I'm going to make this a request, not an order," Wendy said.

"Okay," Lyla said.

"Okay?" Wendy said. The princess was surprised not only by how readily Lyla accepted, but that the Mushroom woman seemed to like the idea.

"Yeah totally, Alexander's just... rowr," Lyla said, snapping her teeth slightly. "I mean have you seen how he's built, and I'm not talking about his muscles either."

"Go... now," Wendy said. The mere idea of 'checking' Alexander out sent a shiver down the princess' spine as Lyla walked out. Humans were never a species Wendy had much cared for, they weren't native to Mushroom World and even worse was they had no formal culture or society of their own. There were only a few thousand humans throughout the world so they had a tendency to blend in with whatever culture was already there. Pride in her people and their history is something that Wendy felt very strongly about, the Koopa people had been forced to endure much in the process of building their kingdom and the princess saw it as a testament to their power and determination to survive.

With the cell phone laying on the table Wendy was surprised when she got a text message from Ludwig calling for a meeting in the castle's medical wing. The princess knew he would be looking into the situation involving the invaders but it had only been roughly a day since the attack occurred. This was unusually fast even for him. It also made Wendy worry because if her brother was looking into something with such fervor it couldn't be good. The cell phone was stuffed back into her shell and she took off in the direction of the castle's medical wing.

As Wendy approached the upper levels of the castle's medical wing the rest of the royal family was en route as well, even Alexander was there. The sight that greeted the princess as she entered the room was enough to almost make someone throw up. The only thing in the room aside from some cabinets containing various medical equipment was a metal table. One of the invaders killed in the battle earlier was laid out on the table with Ludwig and Iggy wearing gloves and surgical masks. The two were in using a tray of surgical equipment to perform an autopsy and this was also the first time Wendy got a good look at one of them.

The creature was thin to the point of being so gaunt that it would seem impossible for the body to support itself. The fingers were long and drawn out and the head seemed too large. The only visible facial features it had were tiny slits for eyes and a mouth with three rows of razor sharp teeth. The pasty gray/white skin only added to the ghastly appearance. The reason Wendy had to fight the urge to hurl was because the invader was laid open in several sections including the entire top of the head that was missing, revealing the brain.

"Thanks for showing up so quickly," Iggy said. "I know this is kind of short notice but there's some things we think you need to know about our uninvited guests." As the others approached the table Wendy kept her distance glancing over a few times until something caught her attention. In the abdomen there appeared to be something that looked almost mechanical in nature. For a moment Wendy set aside her revulsion to get a better look.

"As you all have not doubt already concluded, these beings appear unable to support their own body mass, which is an accurate assessment," Ludwig said.

"What is that?" Wendy said, looking into the abdomen.

"Patients dear sister, I'm getting to that" Ludwig said, glancing up from his work. "Now as you can all ascertain from a visual inspection of our guest, they're cybernetically enhanced. The reason being their physical bodies have atrophied to a stage that would otherwise make locomotion impossible without these... upgrades."

"That should provide us with an advantage if they come back," Bowser Jr said.

"Right, can't you screw up machines with an... electric magnet something or another?" Wendy said.

"Electromagnetic pulse," Morton said.

"While the theory is sound practical application would prove futile in this instance," Ludwig said.

"So yous mean we can't jus' hit dem wit a big bug zappa?" Roy said.

"Right, it would seem the enemy has taken steps to counter the use of EMPs to disrupt their cybernetics," Iggy said.

"How?" Lemmy said.

"Though I am still having samples of the material analyzed the closest explanation I can proffer at this juncture is the utilization of a form of bio-plastics," Ludwig said.

"I don't get it," Wendy said.

"EMPs usually come in the form of a radiated electric, magnetic field, or conducted electrical currents depending on their source. These cause low levels of electrical noise and/or interference which can be highly damaging to electrical equipment. However because the invaders use some form of plastic implants they'll be unaffected," Alexander said.

"Oh, well when you explain it like that it makes sense," Wendy said. The truth was the princess had no idea what he was talking about but didn't want to appear ignorant in front of the others.

"Why ain't they got no junk?" Larry said. That caused several of the people in the room, including Wendy, to notice that the creature had no genitals what so ever.

"Yeah, how do they make baby critters?" Bowser Jr said.

"They don't," Ludwig said. "My current theory is that these creatures are incapable of any form of breeding which bring me to my next point of interest. I believe this creature is a clone, it would be the only plausible explanation for its existence in the absence of any... junk."

Though Wendy had come here hoping to find some answers, the only thing the princess was encountering were more questions. Every kingdom in Mushroom World had outlawed cloning centuries ago. No one practiced it both because it was illegal and it was also a violation of the Technological Accords which had existed since before the formation of the House of Koopa.

"Father," Iggy said. "The primary reason we called for this conference so early is to suggest that you put the military on full alert. If our theories are correct and these creatures are clones, we believe this attack may have just been the vanguard of a larger force."

"So you believe that we're looking at a full scale invasion," Bowser said.

"That is our leading theory," Ludwig said.

"Dat also means dat if dese tings is clones, dat no matta how many we whack, dey just gon' keep coming," Roy said.

"Correct," Ludwig said. "They will continue to attack until our forces are so beleaguered that there is no one left to defend the kingdom."

"Very well, keep me informed of anything else that you find out," Bowser said. As everyone else started to walk out of the room Wendy was now more concerned than anything else. The Dark Lands had been at war in the past, but never against anyone or anything like this. Even she didn't have to be a genius to see the writing on the wall. If they didn't take the fight to these creatures and soon, the situation would only get worse until there was no one left to fight back. As the meeting ended Wendy walked out of the room thinking about something else as well. The only reason she'd really called a truce with Alexander was because he'd saved her life. In truth Wendy still despised the idea of even looking at him.

With a growl Wendy about smashed her head against the wall in an effort to get the warring voices in her head to shut up. Not even thinking about where she was going the princess soon found herself standing on a balcony in one of the highest towers overlooking the city. From there she could see the entire capitol as it spread out across the land below. This sight brought a smile to Wendy's face as she thought about other things for a time. Among them were how the koopa people had managed to survive in this wasteland and build both a home and a kingdom for themselves. It was something that Wendy was very proud of. She may not have shown it very often but the princess was proud of the koopa people and everything they had accomplished

Against all the odds they had survived and now they were facing one of their deadliest threats yet. The most annoying part is that their enemies weren't even that skilled. It wasn't shameful to die in battle against a superior opponent, but these things had almost no skill at all. They snarled, slashed and hacked like animals using sheer numbers to overwhelm their adversaries. In Wendy's mind it was both cowardly and deplorable to fight in such a manner. She well knew a lot of the other kingdoms considered the koopa to be violent warmongers, even though they had their own ethics and code of conduct and governed this violence.

Wendy also didn't care what the other kingdoms thought of them, in her mind they were soft and weak. The only one of the four major powers that even came close to them was Sarasaland, and even they couldn't win in a protracted conflict. The only reason Bowser hadn't attacked and tried to conquer them yet was their alliance with the Mushroom Kingdom. While neither army could stand up to them, together they posed a much greater threat. Normally there was still a good chance for the Dark Lands to win and destroy them both, but then there was Mario and Luigi to deal with. The mere thought of those two humans made Wendy angry.

For years they had stood in Bowser's way thwarting his attempts to expand the boundaries of their kingdom. While they couldn't defeat the entire Dark Land's military single-handedly they had proved to be masters of guerrilla warfare. They would take out supply lines, sabotage communications and destroy infrastructure critical to war efforts. Though Wendy still wasn't confident that Alexander would ever be able to stand up to either of them, the idea of getting rid of those two once and for all was an idea she couldn't resist. The chance to expand their kingdom into others was something the princess looked forward to. More than anything she wanted to see look the look on Princess Peach's face when the House of Toadstool fell and she realized it was all over. In Wendy's eyes she was a mockery of a princess going around acting like she was just one of the people. The mere idea was laughable, royalty stood above the people and that was the way it was meant to be. They didn't go around socializing with everyone, such was unheard of.

"Stressed out dear sister?" Bowser Jr said. So lost in thought Wendy didn't even notice the approach of her youngest brother. The koopa was smaller than anyone else except for her but already bore a striking resemblance to their father. In a few years when he started to go through puberty the little boy would no doubt become much larger. That thought caused Wendy to smile a little and she thought about the family pictures of Bowser when he was a baby. No one could have guessed that little child would turn into a towering monster of a Koopa. While Bowser's height wasn't the result of a growth disorder it was far enough outside the normal range for him to be considered a natural giant.

"Aren't you?" Wendy said.

"Should I be? This kingdom has faced invasion in the past, we destroyed our enemies in the then and we'll destroy them now," Bowser Jr said.

"In the past we were never invaded by unidentified... things," Wendy said.

"What's the difference? We're Koopa and we'll survive, we always do," Bowser Jr said. The words of the young koopa prince were a breath of fresh air for Wendy. There were times that such confidence was something she would've liked to possess. When Wendy thought about all of the soldiers that were killed or wounded such wasn't so easy. While she didn't socialize with commoners one couldn't simply ignore the sacrifices made by loyal soldiers, nor should they. In times of war when soldiers died Bowser always hand wrote letters to the families of the fallen as a way to show thankfulness for their services and his condolences to those left behind.

While never one who much cared for politics Wendy thought about helping him with that task. There would be a lot of letters to write and it would also give the two a chance to spend some time together. So busy with his duties as king Bowser rarely had time for anything else and just a few minutes with him was something that meant the world to Wendy. That in mind she gave Bowser Jr a pat on the shoulder and went to find her father. It wasn't hard as Bowser always wrote such letters in his personal chambers. After an uneventful walk through the castle Wendy approached the door and announced herself to the guards. It was more a formality than anything and she was allowed inside and sure enough Bowser was sitting at a new table in the middle of the room.

In front of him was a large stack of stationary used by the royal house that was gently accented with green and red around the edges. Without saying anything Wendy drug a chair around the table and sat down next to Bowser removing a slender black pen from her shell . Taking some of the stationary she started to write, having done this before it wasn't hard. After several letters were written out and signed Wendy leaned over placing her head against Bowser's arm. There were no words exchanged but when he used the same arm to reach over and hug the princess she let out a small contented sigh. For Wendy it wasn't always about going places and doing things, sometimes just being able to be around Bowser when he running an entire kingdom was enough.

"How are you holding up?" Bowser said.

"I'm fine now," Wendy said. As always Bowser wasn't a koopa of many words and the entire conversation consisted of two sentences before they went back to writing letters. This lasted for the next two hours until Bowser was called away by one of the ministers regarding some urgent matter. Not only was this no surprise, that they'd been able to spend two hours together was unusual. The princess continued to think that while Bowser didn't have much time to spend with them she knew he cared. About the only other time they got to spend together was on her birthday. On every birthday for one of his children Bowser would take the day off to do something with them telling his ministers that unless the kingdom was about to burn down he didn't want to be disturbed. With a small sigh Wendy also thought about her birthday being another ten months away.


	9. Chapter IX

The autopsy left Alexander feeling a little queasy after seeing what the creatures were like under their robes. He was also disturbed by the revelation that they would not only be back, if these things really were clones it wouldn't matter how many were killed. They would just keep coming until there was no one left to fight back. Everything told of more than a simple skirmish, the earlier attack in reality appeared to be nothing more than the vanguard of a full scale invasion. In the hall Alexander stepped aside as Bowser was talking on a cell phone telling someone to have the military on full combat readiness and was also discussing deployment strategies to maximize their defensive capabilities.

With Ludwig still investigating these creatures it would be a while before he was able to present a full report. This left Alexander in something of a lurch as he didn't have anything to do at the moment. After leaving the medical wing he decided it was high time to learn more about the Dark Lands and the House of Koopa. One of the guards gave Alexander directions to the castle's library which was on the second sub-level. Koopa society was markedly different than anything he was used to, so in order to better fit in the expansion of knowledge would be sorely needed.

Reaching the first sub-level Alexander noticed a large common room where a hammer sister sat behind a desk at the far wall, with a hall leading to the left and the right. Though curious he decided to explore later and continued to the second sub-level. Here he came to a small hallway leading to a single door where people seemed to come and go without much concern regarding his presence. The acquisition of knowledge was something Alexander loved with a passion so he was eager to start reading. That was above all else his favorite hobby, to read and learn as much as possible.

[IMG] albums/af37/Antaus/Koopa%20Stories/library_ [/IMG]

On the other side of the door Alexander came face to face with a sight that stopped the young man dead in his tracks. A large library was expected but this was beyond anything he'd imagined. Two stories in height the hall Alexander was standing in front of was only one of twenty when he looked to the left, with an equal number to the right. Still in shock over the sheer size of the castle's library it didn't help matters much when he walked through the door at the far end of the hall coming face to face with the same sight.

"Good lord, how many books do they have here?" Alexander said.

"2,173,920 at last count," A voice said. That brought Alexander around to see a Goomba with glasses looking up at him from just inside the doorway.

"Must have a hell of a time organizing the card catalog," Alexander said.

"I can tell this is your first time here, we switched to an electronic database more three hundred years ago. I'm head librarian Grath, something I can help you find?" the Goomba said. That statement in itself made Alexander curious because he knew that Earth didn't even have computer technology three centuries ago.

"Alexander, uh... I am new here and I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of information regarding things like the history of the House of Koopa, Koopa society and culture, things like that," Alexander said.

"Ah, a seeker of knowledge, a most commendable goal. Follow me," Grath said. The two walked back toward the front of the library to where a desk sat near the entrance and Grath jumped up onto a stool in front of a computer. Here the Goomba also answered a question Alexander had been wondering about for some time now. Grath kicked a shoe off letting it fall to the floor and started to type using his toes. It was also interesting to note that they had a prehensile toe as well and the foot looked almost like a hand. After a piece of paper with several references were printed out Alexander thanked Grath and walked off in search of some reading material. He was thankful that the books in question were on the ground level within arm's reach. The first one was titled 'Rise of the Dark Lands: A History of the House of Koopa' which is what he started with.

The first chapter alone brought about some interesting revelations. Some fifty-one hundred years ago there was no House of Koopa and the Dark Lands were simply an uninhabited region known as the Badlands. At this point the Koopa and Mushroom people lived together in the Mushroom Kingdom. It wasn't until one particular Mushroom by the of Emil Tonsin gained considerable political influence that things began to change. Emil looked down on the Koopa people and wanted to rid the Mushroom Kingdom of their presence, so over the course of the next twenty years he started a gradual but steady propaganda campaign against them.

In time people started listening to Emil and a social schism began to form between the two species. At this time there was also another politician, a koopa by the name of Segidak Fren, the king's head adviser, that tried to enacted his own campaign to counter Emil's lies. Unfortunately by the time Segidak realized what was going on it was too late. Within two years, because of a racist politician and a king who was too weak-willed and impotent to do anything, the Koopa people were driven out of the kingdom by angry mobs. Most of them gathered up what belongings they could before being driven into the Badlands where they were left to die.

Now alone and without a kingdom to call their own most of the Koopa people started to divide up among their own species for safety in numbers. In the months that followed they began fighting amongst one another as food as money continued to dwindle to the point of killing just for a single day's food. It was then that Segidak's son Kraiden Fren made his move to unite the Koopa people under a single banner. This task wasn't accomplished through diplomacy or negotiation, as history recoded that Kraiden was considered ruthless even by Koopa standards. He instead crushed anyone who stood in his way uniting the people through sheer force. Once this task was accomplished Kraiden declared himself king making a speech that has echoed down through the ages to this very day.

'The Mushroom Kingdom drove our people into the Badlands and left us here to die, but to you I say this. We will NOT die and we WILL make them pay for what has been done to us. As your king I will lead our people against those who would see us perish and take from them what should rightfully be ours! I shall be Kraiden Fren no more as a king should be a reflection of his people, from this day forth I shall be known as Kraiden Koopa, first monarch of the House of Koopa!' ~ Kraiden Koopa,

History also records that Kraiden proudly took credit for the assassination of Emil in his fifth year as king. A time during which the Mushroom Kingdom and Dark Lands were in a state of constant war. Because they had no resources of their own, what the Koopa needed to survive was taken by force from their neighbors. In the years to come relations between the two kingdoms remained at open war, with this being the only time in history that the Mushroom Kingdom ever fielded a military of substantial size. Things didn't begin to calm down until Kraiden died at the age of eighty-nine from complications related to advanced age, and his daughter Qindris took the throne. That clued Alexander in to two interesting facts. The first being that the Koopa lifespan was comparable to a human, and that there didn't appear to be any gender bias of substantial magnitude in the Dark Lands.

This was evidenced by the fact Kraiden also had two sons, but because Qindris was his eldest child she assumed the throne after his death. Having since developed industries in stone quarrying, refining obsidian glass, and fishing, the Mushroom Kingdom finally agreed to open trade relations with the Dark Lands so they could acquire resources peacefully. As a result negotiations still remained hostile between the two kingdoms, but open violence dropped dramatically as the Koopa people could now scrap out a meager existence for themselves without having to kill or be killed. Though the House of Koopa still remained poor and possessed little political influence on a global scale.

It wasn't until some three-thousand years later under the rule of King Kraiden Koopa VI that everything changed. While he was considered wise and just, the first three decades of Kraiden's rule were relatively unremarkable. Then one of the king's stone quarries discovered a deposit of energy crystals, the main focusing element in wands. As the quarry continued to mine they discovered that deep in the mountains surrounding the kingdom on three sides were filled with these crystals. This discovery also brought about a massive social and cultural shift throughout the whole of Mushroom World. The reason being that until the discovery of the deposits in the Northern Mountains, magic crystals were only ever mined in small quantities.

Because of this wands often cost a king's ransom to afford and were also considered a symbol of wealth and stature among those that could afford them. Those that couldn't afford them still practiced the art but their ability to utilize magic was considerably lesser. At this time a single crystal cost around five-thousand gold coins. After the Dark Lands began full scale mining of magic crystals they flooded the market in order to strengthen their own economy and everything changed. Naturally those who had made a fortune in the crystal market were angry over this, but there was little they could do. Soon crystals dropped so low in price that the everyday person could save up enough money to buy one, and thus history came to know Kraiden Koopa VI as the king who brought magic to the people. It was also during his rule that the Dark Lands emerged onto the political scene as a major player through their control of the crystal industry.

Magic Crystals became the basis of the Dark Land's economy and while they are still found in small quantities elsewhere, it was too small to affect the market in any real capacity. Even in modern times the House of Koopa continues to enjoy a monopoly on the mining and distribution of crystals, forcing anyone who wants to get into the magic business to line up at their door. Having spent several hours in the library Alexander decided to read through one more book before calling it a night as there was something else mentioned that he wanted to look into. The next book he read was about the Technological Accords. This one provided an even more fascinating look into the history of Mushroom World, especially the page inside the cover.

[IMG] albums/af37/Antaus/Koopa%20Stories/Metropolis_ [/IMG]

Caption: Mushroom Star City circa 7,000 years ago.

The book went into detail explaining how, before the current dating system was employed, Mushroom World was much like modern day Earth with huge towering cities and a population of nearly six-billion sentient beings. It was also during this time that technology had reached its peak, and with the development of cold fusion technology the people of Mushroom World had already launched several deep space missions to explore the other planets in their solar system. This was fascinating to Alexander because from the descriptions, the people of this age were likely a century or two ahead of modern day Earth. Much like their sister planet Mushroom World also avidly sought more technological advancement, often times solely for the sake of advancement. Because of the planet's first and only world war much of their history prior to this time was lost, no one even remembers who started the war or why. The only thing history can state with certainty is that as the war reached catastrophic levels and as the nations of the day became desperate they began launching weapons of mass destruction against one another, but they weren't nuclear weapons, it was something worse.

Based on a combination of cold fusion and nuclear technology the weapons they used against one another tore Mushroom World apart, leaving nothing more than scorched earth where cities once stood and reducing the planet's population to a mere fifty-million. The book also stated that every year since the conclusion of the war Mushroom World observed a day of mourning. Not just because of the war, it was a reminder that during the mass depopulation of the planet that no less than seven sentient species were completely destroyed. It took Mushroom World almost one-thousand years to recover from this disaster, and the people fearing another world war, drew up the Technological Accords. This single document is the longest surviving series of laws ever set down in the history of the world. While the book contained a complete copy of the Accord, Alexander only read through the high points. The Accords were ratified by the newly recovering kingdoms to prevent their world from ever reaching the point of nearly wiping itself out again.

Two main things that it covered was how the use of firearms were outlawed in any capacity as were weapons of mass destruction. It was agreed by all of the signatory parties, both major and minor, that if any political power were found to have violated this agreement there was only one response. All the remaining signatory parties would dedicate 'sufficient military force' to exterminate the offender. Alexander was taken aback by how harsh the wording was, the party in question wouldn't be subdued or conquered, they would be exterminated.

There was also a section on how technology would no longer be advanced solely for the sake of advancement, instead it would only be on an as needed basis. The sole exception to this rule was medical technology for 'the continued health, well being, and longevity of sentient species throughout the world'. Something else of interest that Alexander noticed was that there were two copies of the Accords, the Master Document and the Current Manifest Document. While both contained identical lettering of the law, the Master Document contained signature from all political powers both past and present. The Current Manifest Document however contained signatures from only the current political powers and was in its seventh incarnation.

The amount of information that Alexander gleaned from the books was considerable but it was close to nine o'clock by now and his stomach was growling so it was time to call it a night. Both books were replaced before leaving and since it was already past time for dinner he stopped by the castle's kitchen to pick up some sandwiches, chips, and a six pack of soda. Not the ideal dinner but it was better than nothing. In his room Alexander thought about how Earth seemed to be following in the footsteps of Mushroom World and hoped that they wouldn't make the same mistakes. He also sighed thinking of how arrogant world leaders were and realized it would probably take a nuclear war for humanity to wake up and realize they couldn't continue on their current path.

Dinner was eaten in silence and following a small burp Alexander's attention was drawn by a knock at the door. Now closer to ten he was curious as to who could be calling at this time of night. Setting the plate on the nightstand Alexander walked over and opened the door, looking down to see Lyla standing there.

"Hey there," Lyla said. "Princess Wendy said you wanted to see me?"

"Uh... yeah sure, come on in," Alexander said. That Wendy had arranged for this little meeting was a welcome diversion from current events. After the chaos and carnage from earlier Alexander could use something to take his mind off things. Taking a seat on the bed he stretched causing several vertebra in the back to pop. With both eyes closed briefly Alexander was startled by the feel of a hand running down his arm. The Mushroom Woman was apparently not shy and already invited herself onto the bed next to him.

"Wow, you must work out to have arms like this," Lyla said.

"Um, I don't really work out much, but I do exercise a lot," Alexander said. "You know, eat right and get a lot of exercise to stay healthy and all that."

"Oh I like exercise too," Lyla said. From the tone of her voice and facial expression Alexander could tell that wasn't a reference to jogging.

"So you like Mushroom women huh?" Lyla said.

"I uh..." Alexander said. The smaller woman was being about as subtle as a sledgehammer to the head which threw him off balance in terms of how to react. Normally it was Alexander who was the aggressive party in situations like this and wasn't used to a woman taking the lead.

"Why so shy handsome? You didn't seem to have any problems when fighting the princess earlier," Lyla said.

"I was trying to beat her head into the floor, not make out," Alexander said.

"Not much difference with the Koopa," Lyla said.

"Are you serious?" Alexander said.

"Totally, but anyway, enough talking," Lyla said. At this point Alexander was practically attacked by an aggressive Mushroom woman who seemed to take more after a Koopa than her own people, not that much resistance was offered on his part.

The Next Morning...

It was almost impossible to tell time in the Dark Lands because of the constant cloud cover that always blocked out the sun. For Alexander that meant an abnormal grogginess because he was used to being woken by the rising sun each morning. Now sounding more like a box of Rice Crispies from the stiffness he sat up with a low grunt and rubbed both eyes. All other things considered he slept well and didn't feel any worse for the wear. That morning after dressing he also learned that the Koopa family was so busy after yesterday's attack they were eating on the run while tending to various matters, so it would be a fend for yourself meal. One of the cooks offered to make Alexander some bacon, eggs, and toast with a glass of milk which was readily accepted. The last of the food was just eaten when a Hammer guard walked up to Alexander, who was sitting on a crate by the kitchen door, and spoke rather sharply in an official manner.

"Alexander Magnus, his majesty Prince Ludwig has summoned you," the Hammer said.

"Where's he at?" Alexander said, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"His personal residence inside the Royal Residential Wing I do believe," the Hammer said. With everything that was going on Alexander almost forgot about the situation with Ludwig, but decided against doing anything about it at the moment in light of the recent attack. Instead he walked to the Royal Residential Wing to see what else the prince might have learned about the invaders. At this point in time any information was good news. The creatures that attacked the castle seemed to him to be more like savages than anything else. They attacked in a suicidal frenzy trying to kill anything in their path. Inside this particular wing of the castle Alexander had a few unpleasant flashbacks to when he first arrived in the Dark Lands, and the fight that took place here.

Those thoughts were pushed aside as the realization set in that of the eight hallways in this circular room, he didn't know which one lead to Ludwig's room. It was also slightly awkward asking the guards by the door as they were the same two Alexander fought after running out of Wendy's bedroom. Neither seemed overly happy to see him again and instead of saying anything one of them pointed at the first hall to the right. There was a single wooden door at the end of the hall and upon knocking the prince's voice beckoned him inside.

Ludwig's bedroom didn't look all that different from any other you might encounter with a bed against the far wall, a dresser, nightstand, and an entertainment center set with a large flat screen television. Underneath that was a green box with a controller connected to it by a cord and taking a closer look he saw the words 'Chimera Entertainment System'. In light of everything else seen here it didn't surprise Alexander there would be a company dedicated to the distribution and sale of video games. The only thing missing was the prince himself.

"Prince Ludwig?" Alexander said.

"In here," Ludwig said. The voice sounded from a door to the left and Alexander entered, coming upon what appeared to be a fully equipped scientific laboratory. There were tables with chemistry sets, microscopes, centrifuges, shelves filled with books and quite a few magazines titled 'Koopa Science Monthly', among other things. The prince was seated at a desk in front of a computer working when Alexander walked up next to him. His curiosity was peaked not just by the work, but as to why none of the other royal family were in attendance.

"You wanted to see me?" Alexander said.

"Yes, have a seat," Ludwig said, then shifted the computer screen to offer a better look. "I don't suppose you have any idea what this is?"

[IMG] albums/af37/Antaus/Koopa%20Stories/quad_ [/IMG]

"A genetic quadruple helix?" Alexander said.

"Impressive, that is exactly what we are observing. I gleaned this sample from the uninvited guest I was getting to know last night," Ludwig said.

"How is that even possible?" Alexander said, pointing to the screen. "With that much active genetic material our 'guests' as you call them shouldn't be so atrophied."

"You would think that yes," Ludwig said. Using a wireless mouse the prince rotated the image to a side view where they both got a better view revealing a lot of the DNA below the top of the helix to be severely damaged with large sections missing in some places and other areas appearing to be completely ruptured.

"What happened?" Alexander said.

"It's the result of introducing DNA to a genetic sequence that wasn't entirely compatible," Ludwig said, clicking the mouse a few more times the DNA strand on the screen is pull apart into several sections. "These are all samples of material that are not part of the original design. It appears the invaders are well acquainted the genetic splicing."

"Why would someone do something like that to themselves," Alexander said.

"Because from what my research has brought to light few other options remained open to them. I've been able to isolate their original genetic sequence and discovered that over the course of the last two centuries it has been steadily breaking apart. That combined with the marginally successful attempts to graft new material to their genetic code, very little of the original remains," Ludwig said.

"They're dying," Alexander said.

"Not only are they dying, the original cause of the genetic degradation has not been addressed. Not only have they lost the ability to sexually reproduce, the splicing of new genetic material is nothing more than a stopgap measure to buy them more time," Ludwig said.

"Wait, if they have to constantly graft new DNA into themselves, then..." Alexander said, looking over.

"And so the bulb finally brightens," Ludwig said. "They're not here to conquer, they're here to harvest."

"Do the others know about this?" Alexander said.

"No, I've yet to compile a proper presentation. However that was not the reason for summoning you here," Ludwig said. Once again the prince tapped at the mouse and typed on the keyboard scrolling through a considerable amount of genetic coding. The screen then split into three section with a white box that started to blink over three separate sections of the DNA.

"Are you aware of what this represents?" Ludwig said.

"No clue," Alexander said.

"As I first hypothesized during the initial autopsy all of the creatures we felled in battle were nothing more than clones, all derived from the same template no less. In order to confirm my suspicions I sought out the three genetic markers that all cloned creatures possess," Ludwig said.

"All clones have tell-tale genetic markers, I didn't know that," Alexander said.

"Likely because your world has yet to perfect cloning technology as we have, at least before this venue of scientific research was outlawed," Ludwig said. That being said the prince worked to bring up another DNA sequence, this sample however was that of a double helix rather than quadruple. Again more typing and mouse clicking scrolled through the sequence until the same three blinking boxes appeared indicating clone DNA. Alexander looked at it screen for a moment and shrugged.

"Yeah, and?" Alexander said. Without a word Ludwig tapped the top of the screen and when the young man looked up, he nearly fell to the floor. At the top of the window it read 'DNA Sample: Alexander Magnus'. The color drained from Alexander's face for a moment as the gravity of what was on the screen started to sink in. At first there was shock and disbelief, than other emotions started to set in as well. One's that wouldn't allow him to accept what was being said.

"What the hell is this, some sort of sick joke?!" Alexander said. "Is this your way of trying to get back at me for what happened with your father, is that it?!"

"Alexander, I know there may be bad blood between us, but I can assure you that this is not a joke. Despite our differences there are some things that even I would not joke about and this is one of them. I had your DNA tested by three other technicians to ensure no error had taken place," Ludwig said.

"Why the hell are you even testing my DNA?! What ever happened to privacy?" Alexander said.

"It's standard policy for anyone in residence at the castle. We've faced problems with various forms of doppelgangers who sought to infiltrate the castle in the past so now we keep genetic records to test against if such is duplicity is suspected," Ludwig said.

"LIAR!" Alexander said. Without another word he stormed out of the room slamming both doors hard enough to almost knock them loose of the hinges and went straight back to his own room. There Alexander sat in the darkness without turning any lights on trying to come to grips with a world that was starting to fall down around his head. Every part of him wanted to deny what Ludwig had said, to prove that he wasn't a clone yet there was one thing that prevented this.

While Alexander wasn't a scientist he'd read a few books on cloning out of curiosity in the past. The one thing he did know is that when something was cloned there was the possibility of genetic damage if the process wasn't carried out properly. All sorts of things could result from improper cloning... like not having a gene for hair color. All his life Alexander thought it was just a minor birth defect, but now, now he was faced with the possibility it was the result of an attempt to clone someone else.

There were so many questions going through his mind at this point there was no way to sort everything out properly. Who was he cloned from and why? What it some sort of secret government experiment that just got rid of him afterward? Did some mad scientist just want to see if he could clone someone? There were so many possibilities and so few answers. Sitting bolt upright in bed Alexander decided that was exactly what he needed, answers. There was only one place they could be found, Earth. The day was just beginning and without anything to do at the moment Alexander decided to go speak with Bowser about this. He already had a good idea where to look for the needed information so it wouldn't take long to find either.

The king was in the throne room in conference with several of his minsters about the deployment of military forces to the three other cities in the kingdom to help fortify their defenses in the event another attack came. Word of the attack had already gotten out and the people were scared. Everyone there agreed that a large scale military presence would show the people that the House of Koopa was taking this threat, and their safety, with all due seriousness. There was also a broader discussion about increasing the quota for refined metal that came out of Turtopolis each month so the forges could produce more weapons and hardened combat shells, something else that was agreed upon. The meeting continued for close to an hour before being dismissed and as Bowser rose to leave Alexander fell into step beside him.

"Majesty, I would like to request a brief leave of absence," Alexander said.

"A leave of absence, now?" Bowser said.

"I realize this is rather short notice, and a really bad time, but a matter of considerable personal magnitude has arisen on Earth that I need to take care of," Alexander said.

"How long would you be gone?" Bowser said.

"Not more than a day," Alexander said.

Bowser thought about it for a moment before nodding, "Very well, but be quick about it. If our guests return we're going to need every capable soldier we have."

About to leave Alexander was stopped by Bowser who said that he would need special authorization to use the warp pipe leading to Earth, and summoned one of his court ministers. The turtle brought some papers with him and the king signed one handing it to off before they parted company. With a bow Alexander stepped back, turned on a heel and headed for his room. The clothes worn during the trial in the Dark Lands were still in his room so it was only a matter of a quick change before preparing to leave. Now dressed in a plain shirt and blue jeans Alexander made sure he still had some money in his wallet, about seventy dollars worth, and headed out. Once again he was forced to ask directions to a warp pipe that lead to Earth and was told it was inside the castle's pipe room.

Without delay Alexander headed in that direction. Inside the room there was another door that was locked and guarded by a pair of turtles. Upon reaching the pipe room he approached the turtles and presented the paper given to him by Bowser. Both guards looked it over carefully before one of them took a single key out of his shell unlocking the door. The room behind the door was small, only about ten foot squared with a single green pipe in the center of the floor. There were no decorations in the room save for a single framed picture of Earth hanging on the wall opposite the door. This was a sight Alexander found to be a little strange, but quickly dismissed it and jumped into the pipe.

The exit wasn't quite as smooth as expected when the pipe appeared at the end of an alleyway on Earth extending out of a brick wall. Rather than the vertical ascent Alexander was prepared for he face planted the ground with the grace of a charging Rhino. After some light swearing and dusting off he was prepared to leave when the sound of shoes landing on the ground behind him could be heard. Not only was this curious it brought Alexander about as he wasn't expecting anyone else.

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"Who the hell are you?" Alexander said.

"Who do you think it is primate?" Wendy said.

"Wendy?" Alexander said.

"No, it's the freakin' tooth koopa," Wendy said.

"What are you doing here?" Alexander said.

"I've never been to Earth before, thought since you were heading back I'd come along for the ride," Wendy said. That alone was enough to rankle Alexander as this wasn't just an outing, it was a leave of absence for him to address the matter of being a clone or not. Now some snot nosed princess wanted to tag along like it was some sort of field trip. Even in light of the truce they'd called recently Alexander wasn't inclined to indulge her in this instance.

"Think again, I didn't come back to just hang out and have fun. This is a very personal matter," Alexander said.

"I really don't care why you're here, I just wanted to see the sights. Besides you don't have the authority to make me leave," Wendy said.

"Fine," Alexander said, growling in a low tone. "Just try to stay out of my way."


	10. Chapter X

Although Wendy didn't know precisely why Alexander had come to Earth, with everything that was happening back home she didn't imagine they would be here very long. Despite this she chose to come along largely out of curiosity. This was the first time Wendy ever set foot on Earth and she was mostly curious what the world was like. There were several reasons for this, among them being that if she was going to call a truce with Alexander she wanted to know more about humans. Though Wendy still had a very low opinion of them she couldn't help but be curious about a world that only had one sentient species, especially considering the diversity of Mushroom World.

At first glance they were in a city of some sort, a major metropolitan area from all appearances. There was a lot of noise, car horns, tire squealing, indistinct conversations floating on the air. Following a deep breath Wendy started coughing and to it took a moment for her lungs to adjust to the amount of pollution in the air. Although there was always the faint smell of ash in the air back home it was rarely ever at dangerous levels, and those in the kingdom had long since adapted to it. Here there was a tremendous amount of industrial pollution. Alexander didn't appear bothered by this which was no doubt the result of growing up here. The two of them walked to the end of the alley and Wendy was taken by surprise by the sheer volume of people on the streets. Not even Bowseria had a population density this high.

"Oh great, we're clear across the city," Alexander said.

"Where are we going anyway?" Wendy said.

"Home," Alexander said.

"So does this mean I get to meet the people who spawned such a wonderful example of humanity?" Wendy said. At this Alexander spun around pointing a finger at her, but in lieu of saying anything he just let out a low growl. This brought a small smirk to Wendy's face even though the two had called a truce. She fully intended to keep that promise but in her mind it covered trying to set-up and/or kill him. Annoying the living hell out of Alexander was still fair game in Wendy's book. As the two of them walked down the street she watched as he tried unsuccessfully to hail several cabs. While all of this was going on Wendy looked down at the medallion she was wearing.

Even though the use of magic involved the manipulation of one's own bodily energy, practicing it on other worlds still presented a problem. This was partly because the energy itself also reacted to the ambient energy of the planet and without proper training it could be dangerous. Without calibrating one's self to another world's energy trying to use magic was dangerous at best and suicidal at worst. For that reason Wendy had taken a medallion and stored a lot of her own personal energy inside of it. By drawing from an object close to the body rather than trying to use her own abilities, it allowed Wendy to passively maintain her human illusion. There was enough stored inside to last for several days. Both of them were brought to a halt when her stomach let out a loud growl.

"Is there some place we can get something to eat? I missed breakfast," Wendy said. Without saying anything Alexander lead her across the street to a brightly colored building with two golden arches over the top and a sign that said McDonald's. Though she'd never seen one before Wendy had been to enough fast food restaurants in her life to recognize it as such. The establishment was also quite busy from the look of things. There were four long lines in the lobby and they didn't appear to be moving very quickly. They walked in through the front door and passed the lobby where people were sitting and eating. Having to wait patiently in line wasn't something that Wendy was good at and it greatly annoyed her. In the Dark Lands she would simply walk to the front of the counter skipping the line and place an order, one of the perks of being a princess. Yet here on Earth such was not an option. By the time they reacted the counter Wendy was about ready to come across it at the young woman working the register.

"May I take your order?" The cashier said.

"Yeah, I want a number one, large, with another Big Mac, order of fries... and a diet coke," Wendy said.

"And for you sir?" The cashier said.

"Number one, large, Dr. Pepper, hold the onions," Alexander said. After the order was placed he paid for it and the two walked to the end of the counter to wait.

"Seriously, you basically order two meals in one with a diet coke?" Alexander said.

"Are you saying I'm fat?" Wendy said.

"No, I just don't see the point of ordering all that food and a diet coke," Alexander said.

"I happen to like the taste of diet soda," Wendy said. Alexander seemed to accept that explanation even though it still sent her into a slight huff. For Wendy eating was a delicate balance because Koopa ate more than humans on average, it was part of their biology. On the other hand Wendy also had to watch what she ate in order to avoid getting fat. Meat didn't pose much of a problem as it was a staple of the Koopa diet, but there were other foods she had to be careful of. After years of consulting with dietitians Wendy knew to largely sugar which would cause her to gain weight. That in itself posed a problem as chocolate and ice cream were two of her favorite foods.

The two ate in silence as Wendy watched the people outside go about their business wondering to herself about what life on Earth was like. It reminded her of a high school report written some years ago where she elected to write about this planet. Having never been here before Wendy had to rely on information from the castle's library, but knew that much of the world had abandoned monarchies centuries ago in favor of other styles of government. Some had simply fallen out of favor while others were brought down by revolutions. That was one reason Wendy was glad her father was so popular among the people. The House of Koopa had ruled the Dark Lands for thousands of years and that didn't appear as though it would change any time soon.

"Alexander, is that you?" Beatrice said. Almost finished with her meal Wendy looked up to see a young woman with long dark hair and plain clothing holding a tray of food. It was obvious to see that Alexander wasn't too happy to see her. At a guess Wendy imagined with his sudden departure from Earth there were a lot of questions regarding his whereabouts among old work associates and acquaintances. With a smile Wendy sat back in her chair waiting to see how he would handle the situation.

"Beatrice, funny meeting you here. On lunch?" Alexander said.

"Alex, the office is clear across town and it's Saturday," Beatrice said.

"Oh, right, so how's everything been with you," Alexander said.

"I was about to ask you the same thing. You disappeared in the middle of a job without so much as a phone call, everyone was worried about you," Beatrice said. "Trevor even filed a missing persons report."

"Wonderful..." Alexander said.

"Where did you go anyway?" Beatrice said. This almost made Wendy laugh watching Alexander squirm while trying to come up with a reasonable explanation about his disappearance. He couldn't very well blurt out the truth as it was doubtful anyone would take him seriously. Kingdoms filled with magic, strange creatures, another world, from a human point of view it no doubt sounded like something out of an adventure novel.

"I uh... took a job with her father," Alexander said, motioning to Wendy. "It was something of a sudden offer and I had to leave right away."

"Dating the boss' daughter now are we?" Beatrice said.

"Like hell," Wendy said, using a human term. Already in a slight huff over their earlier conversation regarding the diet soda the last thing she was in the mood for was being mistaken as Alexander's girlfriend. Having to pass herself off as human already made Wendy's skin crawl.

"What line of work is your father into?" Beatrice said.

At this Wendy arched a brow, "Land management and acquisition."

"Well if you're not going to stay why don't you at least stop by and see Trevor, he misses you," Beatrice said. That was the second time the woman mentioned the name Trevor which put Wendy to mind of the man probably being a friend of Alexander's. It seemed the only thing that made sense in light of him filing a missing person's report. This also made Wendy wonder why Alexander would give up his entire life to stay in Mushroom World. It was obvious he had a job, friends, a place to live. The more Wendy thought about it the more she realized she knew so little about him. His life, the reasons for staying in her world, the things he'd given up to do that, all amounted to next to nothing.

"Does your cell phone have video on it?" Alexander said.

"Yeah, why?" Beatrice said.

"Can I see it for a moment?" Alexander said. Wendy hoped that he wasn't going to call this Trevor person and arrange to meet him somewhere. While she came to Earth out of curiosity it wasn't a place she wanted to stay for very long. Being on an entirely different world was an exciting prospect but also a little frightening. The House of Koopa didn't have considerable resources on Earth so if they got into trouble they would likely be on their own.

"Trevor my man, what's up? Sorry I had to cut out on you suddenly like that, I really don't have time to explain but I just wanted to let you know that I'm fine. I'm not missing either so cancel that friggin' police report. I'll try to stop by and see you when I get a chance so just hang in there bud," Alexander said. The cell phone was given back to the woman and once the conversation ended the two quickly exited the building. Once again Alexander tried to hail a few cabs without any success so Wendy finally decided to take this matter into her own hands. Already wearing a skirt that only came half way down her thighs the princess unfastened the next three buttons on her shirt to show some cleavage. As another cab came by she leaned forward waving a hand.

"Yoo hoo," Wendy said. The cab slowed down and stopped ext to them and she just placed a hand on one hip and smirked at Alexander slightly. He in turned just smiled and shook his head a little getting into the cab. As Wendy entered the vehicle the smells that assaulted her nose were enough to almost wretch. Compared to the cab the city was a breath of fresh air.

"Oh good grief, what is that smell?" Wendy said.

"What do you expect, it's public transportation," Alexander said, then looked to to the cab driver. "Take me to the Saint James church."

"Let me see some money," Wendy said.

"What?" Alexander said. "Were not here to shop."

"I've never seen what you call a dollar before," Wendy said, speaking in a low voice. He continued to look at her for a moment before pulling out a black leather wallet. From inside he took out a ten dollar bill and handed it to Wendy. Quite curious about a number of things she looked the bill over front and back and started to rub it between her fingers. The texture was curious because at face value it looked like a piece of paper, but there was more to it.

"What is this exactly, it's not quite... paper," Wendy said.

"It's not paper at all, it's made of 75% cotton and 25% linen. Regular paper degrades to easy," Alexander said.

"So your entire economy is based on cotton and linen?" Wendy said.

Alexander chuckled a little at that and took the money back, "We use the gold standard, the bills are representations of that standard."

"That makes sense I suppose, what about the pictures on front and back?" Wendy said.

"The man on the front was named Alexander Hamilton and he lived, give or take, about 200 years ago. He was the country's first Secretary of the Treasury and the building on the back is the treasury," Alexander said. After that Wendy asked to see more bills and for what was probably the first time since meeting, the two had a normal conversation. She was quite curious about the various people on the money and the buildings on the back which Alexander seemed to know a lot about.

"You sure know a lot about history," Wendy said.

"It's one of my favorite subjects, I love learning about where people came from and what made them who they are today," Alexander said. As they continued to drive through the city Wendy watched everything pass by with considerable interest.

"You wouldn't happen to know the size and population of the city would you?" Wendy said.

"Around 469 square miles and a little over 7,000,000 people," Alexander said. At this Wendy nearly did a double take looking at him.

"You can't be serious," Wendy said.

"Quite, why?" Alexander said.

Once again careful because of the cab driver she leaned over and whispered, "The population of the entire Dark Lands kingdom back home is barely over 5,000,000 people. How do they feed everybody?"

"They don't, people in America starve to death every day," Alexander said.

"That's... horrible. Doesn't anyone care?" Wendy said.

"That's one of the problems here, those in power don't care and those who care have no power," Alexander said. That thought troubled Wendy deeply because she knew that in the Dark Lands even the poor and crippled were taken care of. Even mushroom magic for all it's healing powers couldn't regenerate a lost limb. Those that lost limbs in battle of even accidents could get prosthetic replacements through a government funded project. The homeless had shelters and the poor were given food. While it wasn't much for some, the House of Koopa always did what it could to ensure the people had a minimum quality of life.

Another thing that puzzled Wendy is why they were going to a church as Alexander said he was going home. There was no religion in Mushroom World but she did know a little about such establishments. From what Wendy could remember people went to church to worship someone called God, but from what she knew no one actually lived there. When the cab finally came to a stop in front of the the church she got out started to look around as Alexander paid the cab driver and told him to wait. When she looked at the brick framed sign out front her heart dropped. It read 'The Saint James Church and Orphanage'.

"The Saint James Orphanage? You never told me you were an orphan," Wendy said.

"Well maybe if you took five minutes to get to know me rather than trying to make my life a living HELL, you'd know that," Alexander said. From the tone of his voice it was easy to see that a lot of unhappy memories were already starting to surface and take their toll on an already stressed mind.

"I swore I would never come back here," Alexander said, speaking mostly to himself. Now Wendy was starting to feel guilty because despite what many might think the princess did have a conscience. It reminded her of the time she donated money to an orphanage in Bowseria. What started out as a publicity stunt ended up with Wendy in the bathroom crying. She had tried to talk to one little turtle child who couldn't have been more than four or five years old. Both of his parents had been in the military and died during the same border skirmish.

The people at the orphanage tried to tell the child his parents had to go away because of how young he was. When Wendy tried to talk to the child he asked why his parents had gone away and why they'd stopped loving him. That was more than she was prepared for and from that point on she donated 500 gold coins to the orphanage every month out of the allowance given to her by Bowser. It was hard for Wendy to imagine growing up in an orphanage. As the two walked up the cement walkway through the lawn Wendy finally decided to stop being so cruel to Alexander.

The lobby was a large open area with hardwood floors and a desk against the far wall, but at the moment no one was there. To the left and right there were red double doors set in the walls and without waiting Alexander went through the set to the right. It was obvious he knew his way around here. In the distance the sound of children playing outside could be heard. Again there was a pause and Wendy noticed his hands start to shake before they continued on. The two were near the end of the hall when an attractive woman dressed in a nun's habit walked out of an office locking the door behind her.

"Alexander?" the woman said, noticing him.

"Sister Stephanie, how are you?" Alexander said. Wendy arched a brow slightly when the woman smiled and walked toward him holding her arms out. The two exchanged a small hug and Stephanie held Alexander by the arms looking him over.

"You've gotten so big," Stephanie said.

"Proper diet and exercise will do that to a person, is Mother Grace here? I need to talk to her," Alexander said.

"She's in her office just down the hall," Stephanie said, then called after him as the two walked away. "Please come back and visit more often."

"Yeah.. sure," Alexander said. From the tone of his voice Wendy knew that those words were said out of kindness and that he had no intention of ever coming back here at all if it could be helped. At the end of the hall Alexander knocked on the door and the sound of a woman's voice beckoned them inside. When they entered however, the greeting was far from the warm one he'd received from Sister Stephanie. Both Alexander and Mother Grace stiffened visibly in each others presence.

"What are 'you' doing here?" Mother Grace said. The elderly nun was dressed in a habit like Stephanie only her face was much older with wrinkles and creases around the mouth that made it appear as though she never smiled. Dark brown eyes sat behind a pair of thick glasses and didn't seem at all happy at the sight of the young man before her.

"I've come for my file," Alexander said.

Now becoming as stiff as a board Mother grace sat up straight, "You know I can't give you that, it's confidential information."

"Look I didn't come here to argue, just give me the damned file!" Alexander said, slamming both hands down on her desk.

"If you don't leave right this minute I'll call the police," Mother Grace said. When the nun reached out, Wendy's arm shot forward snatching the old rotary style phone off the metal desk Mother Grace was seated behind.

"Now listen up you old hag, give Alexander his file and no one will get hurt. Oh and don't bother screaming," Wendy said, snapping her fingers. "No one will hear you."

"What did you do?" Alexander said.

"Put a sound barrier around the room," Wendy said.

"So no one outside will be able to hear anything?" Alexander said.

"Not a peep," Wendy said. Even though it was dangerous to use magic on Earth considering how far into this situation they both were, she wasn't about to back out now. Even the princess was taken aback when Alexander reached across the desk grabbing the woman by her habit. In a fit of rage he hurled Mother Grace against the wall causing large cracks to appear, then pinned her there with a hand against the throat.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now," Alexander said.

"Please... I was just... trying to help you," Mother Grace said.

"Help me, help me? How, by telling me every day of my life that my hair was the mark of Satan? Saying that no one wanted to adopt me because I was a demon spawn, or was it making me almost all of my free time in the sanctuary praying for God to save my soul?" Alexander said. At this point the young man was so angry his face was flushed red.

"You beat me when I refused and told me I wasn't worthy of salvation when I obeyed. I spent my childhood thinking I really was a demon child because of you, and it took me years to realize that I wasn't evil. I'm just a man like anyone else. You ruined my childhood and I HATE you, so let me make this clear. If you don't give me my file in the next sixty seconds you'll be meeting God in person... because I will kill you," Alexander said.

When Alexander let her go the nun collapsed to the floor coughing and barely managed to get up. With shaking hands Mother Grace took a set of keys out of her pocket and unlocked one of the filing cabinets marked inactive files. Sorting through them for a moment she took out a thick manilla folder and set it on the table.

"What do you want with it anyway?" Mother Grace said.

"I need to find my father," Alexander said.

"What makes you think there's anything about him in there?" Mother Grace said.

"When I was three years old told me he dropped me off at the orphanage because he was scared of me," Alexander said, starting to thumb though the paperwork he glanced up. "Didn't think I'd remember that did you?"

While Alexander was looking through the paperwork Mother Grace started to inch closer to the door, then made a break for it. Her hand came within inches of the knob only to have Wendy knock the woman unconscious with a right cross to the jaw.

"Thanks a lot Wendy, now I can't knock her out," Alexander said.

"Sorry," Wendy said, looking back with a sarcastic smile.

After a few more minutes of looking through the file tapped a sheet of paper with his finger, "Got it, I just hope this address is still current."

In light of everything that just happened the two beat a hasty retreat back to the cab, with Alexander in an understandable hurry for the cab driver to get the lead out. There was no doubt the police would be called once Mother Grace regained consciousness, so now time was of the essence even more than before. Wendy was sure they'd just committed a number of crimes so it would be best for them to return to Mushroom World as fast as possible once this was over and done with.

When the cab came to a stop in front of a modest white, single story home with black shingle roofing, he almost flew out of door throwing some money at the cab driver. Not far behind Wendy followed curious to see what would happen, even picking up on something Alexander missed. So excited by everything he never bothered to look at the mailbox which had the name M. Gravalski on the side. Having glanced over at the file herself Wendy knew that was the name of the man they were looking for. At first Alexander reached up to knocked, then stopped, started a second time, then stopped.

"What's the matter, this is what you've been waiting for isn't it?" Wendy said, walking up onto the covered porch.

"What if he-"

"Oh no, we're not gonna start this what if crap, knock on the door," Wendy said.

"I know, but-"

"Oh screw this," Wendy said, almost pounding on the door. At first it didn't seem like anyone was home. They couldn't be sure however because of the closed garage which made it impossible to tell if there was a car here or not. As they waited the sound of a muffled voice could be heard coming from inside. It was as if the man were having a conversation but no one else could be heard, then the door opened.

Image: i991 photobucket c0m / albums / af37 / Antaus / Koopa%20Stories / Mortimer_zpsf77786a4 png

"Why would I want internet bundled with my phone service, I don't even own a...computer... I'll call you back later," Mortimer said, hanging up the phone. There were no words exchanged at first, instead the two stood there staring at one another and from the shocked expression on his face, Wendy knew the old man recognized Alexander.

"Alexander?" Mortimer said.

"So you do know me!" Alexander said, his face suddenly contorting into an expression of anger. "Why'd you do it, why?!"

Without even being invited he shoved Mortimer into the house and walked inside. While the young man yelled and the older man tried to sputter out some form of a coherent sentence, Wendy walked around the living room looking everything over. The house was well kept and appeared to be upper-middle class. The design wasn't all that different from some of the homes she's seen in the Dark Lands, only brighter. Then after another cursory glance the princess almost did a double take seeing a picture on one of the tables.

Image: i991 photobucket c0m / albums / af37 / Antaus / Koopa%20Stories / Alexander04_zps37cb98d2 jpg

Somewhat curious Wendy picked it up and carefully removed the photo from the frame. The image appeared to be quite old and flipping it over she noticed a date on the back. Having seen a newspaper earlier she knew the current year on Earth was 2001 which didn't make any sense.

"Alexander, what year were you born?" Wendy said.

"What year, 1975, what's that got to do with anything?" Alexander said.

"Then why is this photo dated 1969?" Wendy said, turning it around for Alexander to see. Like a shot he was across the room inspecting the photo will all due interest. Then as it started to sink in Alexander seemed to become depressed for a moment before the anger came flooding back.

"You really did it didn't you, you cloned me," Alexander said.

"Hello!" Wendy said, shocked by that revelation.

"Please, let me explain," Mortimer said.

"Explain what, how you cloned me from some other guy, then dropped me off at an orphanage like I was nothing. How you abandoned me once the experiment was finished," Alexander, almost shoving the photo in the man's face. "Who is this, who?!"

"He's my son!" Mortimer said, yelling out in frustration. At that point someone could hear a pin drop in the silence that feel over the room. Even Wendy who normally had a nasty remark ready for just about everything had been stunned into silence. Then very gently taking the photo Mortimer looked down at it as tears began to form in his eyes.

"He is... was my son," Mortimer said.

"What happened?" Wendy said.

"He was walking home from the factory where he worked one evening because his car was being repaired. While crossing the street he was struck by a car and... and..." Breaking down Mortimer buried his face in both hands. "They never even stopped to see if he was still alive."

So shocked at hearing this the anger in Alexander finally started to subside and while it was rather awkward for him, he reached out giving Mortimer a hug, knowing all to well what it felt like to hurt and not have someone to hug. Once things finally started to calm down they all took a seat in the living room with Mortimer in a recliner and the other two on the sofa.

"How did you find out you were a clone?" Mortimer said.

"It's hard to explain, why don't you tell me how all this got started in the first place?" Alexander said. With a nod and a low sigh Mortimer began to talk about his family, specifically his wife Amelia. He spoke briefly about how the two of them met years ago in a small diner that wasn't even on the edge of town anymore, and that after a short two month romance they got married. The marriage was a happy one with only minor bumps in the road that always managed to get worked out and they were quite content as a couple, then two years later they were blessed with a child, a boy they named Alexander Gravalski.

Amelia was a stay at home mother who kept house and raised their son while Mortimer worked and things couldn't have been better. Alexander grew into an intelligent young man who graduated from high school with straight As, then went on to get a job a local factory, found himself a place to live, and worked during the day while attending college at night. Life was great for the Gravalski up until 1971 when Mortimer came home to find his wife unconscious on the floor. He tried calling the paramedics and performing CRP but it was too late, when the ambulance arrived she was declared dead at the scene. The official cause of death was listed as heart failure from a previously undiagnosed condition.

The loss of Amelia was devastating to the both of them and they grieved for a long time, but life moved on and eventually father and son learned to move on as well. It was hard but they continued forward, then two years later Alexander was killed on the way home from work. The death of his son so soon after Amelia's loss pushed Mortimer into trying to commit suicide by taping a garden hose to the tailpipe of his car and sliding it through the window. It would have worked if a neighbor hadn't realized what was going on and rushed to stop him. Following some counseling that Mortimer didn't want to talk about the subject changed to his profession which happened to be a geneticist before he retired.

"Wait, you're telling me that you cloned me in 1975?" Alexander said.

"Late 1974 actually," Mortimer said.

"I thought cloning was in its infancy back then," Alexander said.

"It was," Mortimer said.

"How did you overcome all of the problems caused by the cloning process, like accelerated aging for example?" Alexander said. At this Mortimer didn't answer, instead looking down and scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably.

"He didn't," Wendy said. "Cloning you was just dumb luck."

"Pretty much," Mortimer said.

"That still doesn't explain why you left me at the orphanage," Alexander said.

"I didn't, at least not at first. I raised you for the first three months, then the people I worked for started asking a lot of questions. They started poking around wanting to know things like who your mother was, when and where you were born, what hospital," Mortimer said. "I got scared because I knew that if they found out I'd cloned my son, they'd take you away to a laboratory somewhere and I'd never see you again."

"So that's when you gave him up?" Wendy said.

"Yes, I knew someone at the local coroner's office who wrote up a fake death certificate for me, I told them you died of pneumonia, and that I had the body cremated," Mortimer said.

"This person just wrote up a fake death certificate no questions asked?" Alexander said.

"I paid him 300 dollars to do it," Mortimer said. As a silence once again fell over the room Wendy could see a wave of relief starting to wash over Alexander. She could imagine how much of a relief it was to know that he wasn't simply discarded like some experiment. Instead his father had tried to raise him only to be forced to give him up because the government would have otherwise taken him away.

"What's my real birthday?" Alexander said.

"July 7th, 1975," Mortimer said.

"You still haven't answered one question, why did you clone me? Surely you must have realized that I wouldn't be the same person. I wouldn't have your son's thoughts or his memories," Alexander said.

"I know, but after he died I was so lonely. I just wanted to have some part of him back, even if you only looked like him," Mortimer said. At that Wendy stopped for a moment thinking about her own mother Clawdia. Even this pulled at Wendy's heart because her mother had been such a kind and loving woman to them. Not even ten years old when Clawdia fell ill and died what memories Wendy did have she held on too tightly and understood Mortimer more than most. She would have given anything just to have some part of her mother back. The gathering was brought to a rather abrupt halt by the sight of red and blue flashing lights in front of the house which caused Alexander and Wendy to jump out of their seats.

"I think that's our cue to leave," Wendy said.

"Alexander what's going on, why are there police outside?" Mortimer said.

"I uh... may have beaten the crap out of a nun to get your address," Alexander said. The two were already heading for the back door to affect a hasty exit from the residence when Mortimer grabbed Alexander by the arm.

"Take me with you, please," Mortimer said.

"What?!" Alexander said.

"There's nothing left for me here but old memories and an empty home. I don't want to lose you again," Mortimer said. It was easy to see that Alexander was torn by this decision, but it didn't take him long to make it. The young man motioned for him to follow and the three quickly ran out the back door. They came to a grinding halt in the backyard raising both hands as four police officers cocked their guns and started to yell.

"Geez guys you act like I robbed a bank or something," Alexander said.

Alexander and Wendy were tackled by two police officers that apparently doubled as NFL linebackers while Mortimer was cuffed but spared any harsh treatment. In the process Wendy also picked up additional charges when she bit her arresting officer's arm hard enough to draw blood, then kicked him between the legs. The police officer staggered sideways in pain while another tazered Wendy.


	11. Chapter XI

The police station was a hive of activity as people from all around the city were being arrested, booked, released, or dealing with other legal matters. The sound of ringing phones, complaining people, and general noise reminded Alexander a lot of his own work place as he was being booked for felony assault and battery, trespassing, and theft. Once the police had his finger prints and all the other information they required he was surprised not to be taken to lock-up. Instead the three were taken to separate interrogation rooms and left to stew for while. Alexander kept himself occupied by flipping off and making faces at the security camera.

A short time later he finally stopped and calmed down trying figure out where all of this was coming from. In a situation this serious he normally didn't act like such an idiot, maybe it was the stress from everything else that was going on. In retrospect it seemed to Alexander to be the most logical explanation as he'd first experience bouts of intense anger after the Mushroom Kingdom trial, now he seemed to be going bonkers. There was still so much stress that he was having problems coping with everything which added the possibility of a mental breakdown. Emotions were still tumultuous and hard to control, now he was under arrest for beating up a nun to get an address. When a detective finally did walk into the room carrying a manilla folder in one hand the mouthing off continued.

"Well it's about time, do you have any idea how long I've been sitting here? Don't I get a phone call or anything?" Alexander said.

"We can get to that in a minute," the man said. The detective was an older man with slicked back gray hair and a hard face set with dull brown eyes. With only a white button-up shirt, black slacks and matching shoes he took a seat across from Alexander who was still cuffed but had since stepped over them.

"My name is Detective Gabriel Williams and I have some questions I'd like to ask you," Gabriel said.

"Dennis Rodman, and I probably won't have any answers," Alexander said.

"You might want to start taking this more seriously Mr. Scott, you're facing some very serious charges," Gabriel said. The mention of the last name Scott was something Alexander absolutely hated. While he chose to go by Alexander Magnus his legal name on Earth was Alexander Scott. The nuns at the orphanage had changed his last name to prevent Alexander from tracking down his real father when he got older. For some time there was considerable friction between him and the nuns at the orphanage as he refused to use the last name Scott and signed everything with Magnus instead. It was one of the few victories he attained as they finally let him go by Magnus, but Alexander was still forced to use his real last name for legal documents.

"Apparently, I beat up one old lady to get my father's address and you people act like I knocked over Fort Knox. What gives anyway?" Alexander said.

"I appreciate the confession on those charges, now what about these?" Gabriel said, sliding the folder across the table. Still not sure what was going on Alexander took the folder and opened it to see a picture of a young woman. It looked like she'd just lost a fight after going ten rounds with professional boxer. Sliding that one aside there were a total of seven pictures, all of women who were badly beaten and Alexander had a sinking feeling, though exactly what was going on he couldn't put together.

"What is all this?" Alexander said, his attitude suddenly becoming serious.

"Those women are all nuns and they're all dead. The coroner's report also states that they were all beaten to death by hand," Gabriel said.

"Seriously, you're gonna try to pin this on me? What next, you gonna pluck a white hair off some old detectives head to convince me you have some sort of evidence. I just got back into town a few hours ago so if you're hoping for some sort of confession, go screw yourself," Alexander said.

"The pattern fits, all of-"

"Hey pal, piss off. You ain't got nothin' to say that I wanna hear, we're done. I want a lawyer and you outta my face, now," Alexander said.

"Seems to me like you're not taking this seriously, maybe some time in the holding cell with some of the other pillars of the community will take the edge off," Gabriel said.

The young man resisted the urge to attack Gabriel as he was lead from the interrogation room to the holdings cells inside the station. As they walked Alexander was already angry about this ridiculous turn of events knowing that the police were grasping at straws. There had been many a time during his stay at the orphanage the thought of killing Mother Grace had come to mind. On the other hand cold blooded murder wasn't something Alexander could ever bring himself to do, so it remained nothing more than an angry thought.

Even during the Cape Boomer mission the fights were forced and he was acting out of fear of retaliation by Ludwig. It wasn't something Alexander was very proud of but he didn't beat himself up over it either. The only thing that still bothered him was killing that guard on the bus. At the time Alexander was so torn up inside he didn't know which way was up mentally. The sound of the holding cell door slammed shut as he rubbed both wrists from where the cuffs had been removed. Not in the mood to socialize with the other pillars of society Alexander took a seat in the corner of the room and leaned back looking out of the bars.

It would seem that even in lock-up he couldn't find any peace, not too long after being placed inside the cell a group of five men lead by a rather large Hispanic individual approached. The man was heavily built with short black hair and a face that only a mother could love. He was flanked on both sides by two men, two white, one black, and one Asian. It was obvious they were looking for trouble.

"Hey amigo, ain't seen you around here before," the man said.

"I'm so not in the mood for this crap, just go back to your corner," Alexander said, not even looking over.

"Oh you're not in the mood, so what, I should make an appointment?" the man said. It only seemed to anger him further being completely ignored. "Hey, I'm talking to you pelo blanco."

Though only speaking enough Spanish to cobble together a few phrases and greetings, Alexander knew the last two words were a reference to his white hair. With everything else that was going on at the moment the convict somehow managed to say just the right thing at just the wrong time.

"You know, you remind me of someone I used to know as a kid," Alexander said, slowly looking over at the man in front. "And I hated him!"

Ten minutes later he was lead back into the interrogation room by a police officer with a black eye and busted lip. Even in light of the injuries Alexander smiled to himself when Gabriel came walking up to speak with the police officer.

"What's he doing back here, I just put him in a holding cell," Gabriel said.

"Uh yeah, about that. He just tore up the five guys in the holding cell with him," the police officer said.

"He did what?" Gabriel said.

"Yeah, he did a real number on them too. Paramedics are on the way," the police officer said. When Gabriel walked into room and took a seat Alexander continued to smile.

"You were right, that really took the edge off. I feel a lot better," Alexander said.

"Do you realize how it looks when you're picked up for attacking a nun, then pick up five more charges of assault and battery while in custody? What are you trying for, an insanity plea?" Gabriel said.

"What's it to you if I bring a little order to society's gutter trash?" Alexander said, his mood once again shifting to being more hostile.

"Those pieces of gutter trash as you call them also happen to be human beings," Gabriel said.

"Only in the loosest sense of the word. They're nothing more than the product of a broken society obsessed with wealth, material gain, and every whining crybaby that can get five minutes of air time. They have no idea of things like loyalty, honor, duty, or service. What it means to fight for a cause greater than themselves," Alexander said.

"You military?" Gabriel said.

"Not officially," Alexander said.

"Who are you with, unofficially," Gabriel said.

"Sorry, that's classified," Alexander said. With a sigh the detective stood up and walked out of the room again talking with one of the officers outside.

"Do me a favor, run this guy through the alphabet and see if anyone tries to pick him up," Gabriel said.

" FBI, NSA, CIA, DOD, JFK, MIA," Alexander said, singing it to the tune of the alphabet.

"You're a real piece of work, you know that?" Gabriel said, looking over at him.

"You have no idea," Alexander said.

"Hey Gab, Mr. Magnus' lawyer is here," another police officer said. Nearly doing a double take Alexander looked over wondering exactly what was going on, he didn't even have a lawyer, nor had he been given the chance to call anyone. Things were getting stranger by the moment and it was enough to almost make him want to scream, instead the young man settled for smacking his head against the table and leaving it there. Then the sound of an all too familiar voice caused the color to drain out Alexander's face as he sat bolt upright, eyes wide.

"I would like a moment to speak with my client alone," Bowser said.

"I'm so boned," Alexander said, speaking in a whisper. The detective walked out of the room collecting the folder as he went and in his place sat a seven foot tall, roughly three hundred pound man wearing a red tank top and green fatigue cargo pants.

Image: i991 photobucket c0m / albums / af37 / Antaus / Koopa%20Stories / Hbowser_zps1399728f jpg

The expression on the king's face alone was enough to cause Alexander to shrink down and wish there was a rock to crawl under. Normally there wasn't much that scared the young man but Bowser was one of them. The King of the Koopa wasn't a being of many words and didn't have to be, just to be in his presence you knew he was the biggest, baddest thing in the Dark Lands... and he knew it too. There was a presence to Bowser, one of royalty, nobility, and someone who would break you in half if you crossed him. More than once Alexander had seen him bring someone to silence with a mere look, much like the one he was under now. The conversation began after Bowser snapped his fingers causing the camera in the room to make a loud pop followed by a visible curl of smoke.

"First you bring my daughter to Earth without permission, then you commit a series of crimes and get arrested, and now I have to leave the castle in the middle of a crisis to clean up this little mess. If you want to leave this room alive you have exactly ten words with which to explain yourself," Bowser said.

"Iwaslookingformyfatherandtheprincessinvitedherself," Alexander said, blurting everything out at once.

"That's eleven words," Bowser said.

"My bad," Alexander said.

"So you're saying you didn't invite Wendy to come with you?" Bowser said.

"She invited herself and said I didn't have the authority to make her go home. With all due respect majesty why would I invite Wendy when I can barely stand to be around her?" Alexander said. "She's made it rather clear she hates me and the feeling is mutual, trust me."

"Then why would she come in the first place," Bowser said.

"Because she's never seen Earth and since I was headed this way decided to come along for the ride?" Alexander said. Again the young man jumped when Bowser slammed his fist into the metal table hard enough to leave an impression and muttered something about gray hair and children.

"When we get home-" The sentence feel short when the sound of gunfire rang out inside the police station and the both of them looked up trying to figure out what was going on. Moments later the sound of Wendy screaming could be heard and without hesitation Bowser exited the room, only he didn't use the door. Instead the koopa sovereign, with little effort, made another door in the wall coming out in a hallway near the main office area. When Alexander poked his head out of the new doorway he could see three police officers firing into the second interrogation room.

Without so much as a word of warning Bowser inhaled and then unleashed a torrent of fire down the hallway leaving nothing but three melted guns as the station's fire alarm sounded. Next the sprinkler system activated causing complete confusion in the station as people started yelling over one another in an effort to figure out what was going on. Seeing an eight foot tall human breath fire was weird, even by Alexander's standards. Now following close behind Alexander looked around the king and into the second interrogation room to see Wendy peering out from behind an overturned table... the real Wendy.

"Dad?" Wendy said.

"Wendy, what happened?" Bowser said.

"M-My amulet, it has a crack in it, I didn't see it and while I was being interrogated..." Wendy said, tears streaming down her face. There was no time for pleasantries so Bowser walked into the room, knelt down placing a hand on Wendy's shoulder and concentrated. The princess' appearance wavered for a moment before she once again appeared human. Alexander quickly collected his father from the third interrogation room and heard another loud crunch. Upon rushing out there was a second new doorway at the end of the hall leading out of the station and into a nearby alleyway.

With the confusion caused by the sprinkler system and exiting the station through an impromptu doorway, the party was able to make it into the alley and take off running before anyone realized they were gone. Moving through a series of backstreets Alexander quickly realized where they were and the problem it presented. The pipe that he came through with Wendy was clear on the other side of the city and it wouldn't be long before the police realized they were missing. They would no doubt put out an A.P.B. and at this rate they wouldn't make it very far, even with Bowser leading the party.

"What are we going to do now?" Alexander said, when the group stopped for a breather, "The pipe we came through is miles from here."

"I'm going to have to unseal the secondary pipe," Bowser said.

"The secondary... aw crap," Wendy said.

"If it gets us back home what's the problem?" Alexander said.

"The pipe was sealed because it has an unfixed exit point, that thing can and will spit you out literally anywhere in Mushroom World," Wendy said.

"Under the circumstances I don't see that we have many other options, it won't be long before the police realize that we're missing," Bowser said. Once again on the run the quartet continued for another two block before turning into a blind alley. At the very end Bowser placed his hand on the brick wall, closed both eyes, and started to speak in a low voice.

"Um, Alexander, what's a pipe and what's going on?" Mortimer said.

"Not right now dad," Alexander said. As Bowser continued to work on unsealing the pipe he played look out at the end of the alley to make sure there were no further complications en route. It took almost two minutes for Bowser to finish and when he did a magical seal glowed briefly and faded as a large green warp pipe extended from the wall. The king had to quickly step back to avoid being hit by it. After Wendy and her father climbed in Alexander was about to follow when a hand on the arm stopped him.

"You're not seriously going to climb in there are you?" Mortimer said.

"Dad, Bowser just flash fried three cops, plowed through two walls, and set off the fire suppression system back at the police station, you really want to wait around for round two?" Alexander said.

"Give your old man a hand," Mortimer said, heading for the pipe. A small chuckle escaped Alexander's mouth while giving his father a shoulder to step on and followed directly behind. From the other side Alexander was the last to exit from the pipe to find both Wendy and Bowser in their true form with Mortimer looking around the room having not noticed either of them yet.

"Where are we?" Mortimer said.

"Of all the places to land..." Bowser said. "We had to end up in the personal residence of Princess Peach."

"Princess Peach? Mother fu-"

"Wendy, such language is unbecoming of a princess," Bowser said. The reaction when Mortimer turned around was what Alexander expected, the old man's heart skipped a beat and he was up against the far wall of the room in short order.

"Mother of God!" Mortimer said.

"Not quite," Bowser said. Not wanting things to get any further out of hand than they already were Alexander walked over to his father trying to calm the situation down. Things only continued to heat up when one of the Mushroom Guards outside, hearing the commotion, walked into room. It only took a moment for him to see everyone and take off running. About to go after him Alexander was stopped by Bowser.

"We are in the very heart of the Mushroom Kingdom, even I could not fight my way out of here. Violence will not prevail this day," Bowser said.

"Than what?" Alexander said.

"Diplomacy," Bowser said.

"Alexander, what are those things, what's going on?" Mortimer said.

"Father please, just try to stay calm. I don't have time to explain right now, if we manage to get out of this in once piece I'll fill you in on everything. For now they're friends, alright?" Alexander said.

"Alright," Mortimer said. It didn't take long for the sound of armored footsteps to come down the hallway and Princess Peach walked into the room flanked by no less than a dozen human soldiers. The odd looking Mushroom from the trial was there as well.

"King Koopa, I must say this is a most unexpected encounter. Might I ask why you are in my bedroom?" Peach said.

"I'm not inclined to go into details at the moment, but I was forced to return from Earth through the sealed pipe," Bowser said.

At that Peach tilted her head in Alexander's direction, "And as luck would have it Alexander Magnus is dropped right into my lap."

"Bite me blondie," Alexander said.

Ignoring the comment Peach walked closer to Mortimer and looked him over carefully, "Hello, I don't believe I've had the pleasure of making your acquaintance."

"M-Mortimer Gravalski, I'm Alexander's father," Mortimer said.

"Peach Toadstool of the House of Toadstool and princess of the Mushroom Kingdom," Peach said, bowing her head gently. "It's unfortunate we couldn't have met under better circumstances." While Peach and Bowser talked with one another, Alexander tried to calm his father down by explaining everything that had happened. He started with the arrival in Mushroom World moving on to explain the entire series of events that lead up to their current situation. The explanation also included how Alexander found out he was a clone and the recent attack on Koopa Castle by parties unknown.

"I cannot go into detail at this time for reasons of Kingdom security, however if you will grant us leave to return home, once this situation involving the attack on Koopa Castle is resolved I will return. At that point I will explain some things I believe you should be aware of in regards to Alexander and his activities here," Bowser said. It was obvious that Peach was thinking the situation over and there was considerable tension in the room. What struck Alexander as being so odd is that what Bowser said was being considered at all. In light of the strained relations between the two kingdoms he thought the situation would turn into a large confrontation ending up with all of them being arrested, or worse.

"I must admit that while we have not always seen eye to eye in the past, you have never lied to me. You are a Koopa of your word," Peach said. "Very well, I will grant you leave to return to the Dark Lands because I am aware of the situation you currently face. However once it is resolved I expect some answers."

"And you will have them," Bowser said. The outcome to the situation shocked Alexander considerably, while the princess' expression toward him as they left did not. The entire group had just left the room when another point of random interest popped up. Before everyone got too far ahead Alexander popped his head back into the room looking at the strange Mushroom.

"Who are you anyway?" Alexander said.

"My name's Toad, I'm her majesty's personal bodyguard. Not that it's any of your business," Toad said. Stilled jazzed over walking away from the situation without a scratch that hope was quickly dashed. Outside the castle on the drawbridge Alexander was almost jogging and not paying attention. As Bowser put out a hand to stop the group the young man ended up clotheslining himself and landed with a loud thud.

"Smooth," Wendy said. After collecting himself off the ground Alexander waited as Bowser placed a phone call for the group to be picked up from their current location on a cell phone. The entire situation was still nerve wracking for the young man as in his mind they were in the heart of enemy territory. The sooner everyone got home the better. On the other hand Alexander also knew he would have a lot of explaining to do in regards to bringing his father back. That however was not a decision he would regret. To Alexander family was one of the most important things in life and the old man was all the family he had.

By the time their transportation arrived an hour later there was already a small crowd of people gathered who were looking at the group outside the castle, most of them casting dirty looks in Alexander's direction. The young man was expecting a vehicle of some sort to pull up but instead he was greeted by the same roar of an engine and massive propeller blades cutting through the air from when the airships appeared during the attack on the castle. The shadow that came over them as the airship came in for a landing was that of the massive metal machine that lead the fleet during battle. The most prominent feature on the ship was the bust of Bowser's head at the very front. The small group shielded their faces from the massive downdraft as the ship touched down in the castle's courtyard.

Because of how sensitive the situation was the airship never fully powered down, the propellers went into standby mode with reduced RPMs while the boarding ramp lowered. Nobody waited around and soon the engines grew louder as the blades spun faster, and the ship took off into the sky. It was the first time for Alexander being on a ship like this and the feeling was exhilarating. The wind rushing through his hair, the steady hum of the engines, this was something a person could quickly come to enjoy. The deck of the ship was surrounded by a waist high metal railing and most of it was clear of anything, it started to make Alexander wonder until noticing there were warnings painted on the deck plating. A closer inspection revealed they were over gun ports and there were at least fifteen of them along the stern.

The bow of the ship raised up leading to the helm where there was a hammer brother piloting what looked like an old style ship's wheel along with two engine's connected to masts supporting the propellers on the bow, mid-ship and stern. The amount of technology employed in the design made Alexander think the ship's wheel was a rather antique design in light of everything else. Then the sound of talking voices caught his attention.

"How did you make yourself look human on Earth?" Mortimer said.

"Polymorphic magic, the koopa have to employ it where we visit Earth," Bowser said. The two were standing by the ship's railing talking while Wendy sat behind the helm in one of several seats.

"Magic?" Mortimer said, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"The term magic is really a holdover from ancient times, now the technical term is Energy Science. It's based on the harnessing and manipulation of one's own bodily energy to achieve what would otherwise be perceived as supernatural," Bowser said. To further prove this the king held out a hand palm up and seemed to concentrate for a moment as a small spire of ice formed, then shattered.

"Fascinating," Mortimer said. "I would be interested in learning more about this when there's time."

"The castle's library has a wealth of information on the subject," Bowser said. That much Alexander knew to be true, the library was massive and likely held information on just about any subject one could think of. As the two continued to talk the young man was a little envious of how easily his father seemed to get along with Bowser. Normally he was a koopa of few words and didn't have such casual conversations with Alexander. With things finally starting to calm down Alexander took a seat behind the helm leaving a distance between himself and Wendy. He also mused over how his life no longer wanted for excitement, since arriving in Mushroom World things seem to be happening almost non-stop and the possibilities were endless.

Alexander's respite only lasted for a moment when he casually glanced over at Wendy who was texting on her phone. Something else in the young man's peripheral vision caused him to look back behind the ship. Out in the open sky there was... something. It looked almost like a ripple in the surrounding air but what set off alarm bells in the young man's mind was how the ripple was maintaining a distance from the ship which was already traveling at high speeds... then something began to emerge. The tip of a large black metal object began to cut through the distortion, growing larger as plates of jagged metal became visible supported by some sort of energy based engines mounted on the lower hull. Half way through Alexander realized it was another airship and the very stern was a small purple robed creature.

"Incoming!" Alexander yelled, rising from his seat. Wendy looked back and took off down onto the deck of the ship where Bowser and Mortimer were. Then pilot, seeing the enemy vessel, punched a button in the center of the wheel causing it to quickly sink into the deck only to be replaced by more modern control panels and what looked like a large steering wheel. The most interesting change that Alexander saw was a momentary ripple of energy as a barrier formed over the deck. Not even completely out of the spacial distortion the enemy vessel opened fire striking the rear of the vessel three separate times. The airship shook violently from the impact and without a word the pilot moved aside as Bowser jumped over the railing in front of the helm to take the controls.

"Hold on!" Bowser said. Everyone on the deck grabbed onto some part of the railing as Bowser cut the starboard mid and stern engines causing the airship to drop and start turning at an extremely sharp angle.

"Alexander, Wendy, Mortimer, when the ship levels off get below deck," Bowser said.

"What about you?" Alexander said.

"I'll be along shortly," Bowser said. Tapping at one of the screens the king spoke to someone through the comm-system. "Activate deck canons one through five and fire at will."

"There's over fifteen guns on the deck, why not fire them all?" Alexander said.

"It takes too much power, the refit isn't finished," Bowser said. Now almost directly under the enemy vessel five separate sections of the deck opened as large black canons raised and swiveled in the direction of their attacker. When they fired what appeared to be explosive shells Alexander was about to ask how that took so much power, until he saw them continuing to fire in rapid succession. He was also curious how they were able to pass through the energy barrier but decided against being a further distraction. The shells exploded against the energy ship causing bright flares of light and as the smoke cleared there were dents in the hull plating of the enemy ship, but it was obvious it would take a lot more to bring them down.

As ordered Alexander was about to head below deck when a series of gun ports on the underbelly of the other ship opened and fired. Instead of a widespread burst attack they focused on one section of the ship tearing through the energy barrier causing one of the engines to explode into a shower of metal and debris. This combined with the explosive force caused by the attack, rocked Bowser's airship pushing the stern to a near forty-five degree angle. The only thing Alexander remembered was a violent shake before viewing the airship from about thirty feet below in a free fall.

"Well this sucks," Alexander said. Another port in the bottom of the king's airship opened and thinking it a weapon of some sort he was quite surprised to see what looked like a small white cloud come flying out at high speed. It quickly curved around coming in Alexander's direction and soon the sight of a rather strange looking turtle riding a cloud could be seen.

"Okay, now I've seen it all," Alexander said. The turtle continued to close obviously trying to reach the young man with a hand extended, when there was a large explosion and the turtle was gone. Realizing the enemy ship had targeted it Alexander responded by flipping it off as that was about all he could do. Almost afraid to look he turned around to see how far it was to the ground. Alexander couldn't even begin to guess but they were just above the border between the two kingdoms and things still appeared to be some distance below so it would take time to hit the ground.

"Now see, it's things like this that make me hate gravity," Alexander said. While he may have been some distance up in the air that was quickly changing. The ground was coming up to meet Alexander with alarming speed. Roughly 1,000 feet from impact something struck the young man from behind sending him into a tumble as it latched on. Moments later Alexander heard the sound of a ripcord being pulled as a parachute deployed. Rather violently pulled into a vertical position his descent slowed but there wasn't time to react to anything before touching down. Because of how close to the ground Alexander was the parachute couldn't prevent a violent impact that caused him to black out.

It would seem to have prevented a grizzly demise as an unknown amount of time later he began to regain consciousness, largely because of the incredible amount of pain being felt. With a loud groan Alexander, who was face down in the dirt, tried to move briefly. The attempt was quickly aborted when nearly every muscle felt like jello that sent sharp pains through his body. For several minutes Alexander laid there on the ground trying to collect himself and let the pain subside enough to move. Once this was possible he very carefully sat up seeing a dull white parachute with a lump in the middle a short distance away.

On both hands and knees he crawled forward pulling the material away and was shocked to see Wendy laying there. Unsure if the princess was dead or alive a quick check of the neck revealed a steady pulse. With a loud sigh of relief at this realization Alexander fell over letting out another pained groan from the impact. This time instead of passing out he feel asleep in an effort to rest and recover only be woken some time later by two fingers against his neck.

"You're not dead, good," Wendy said.

"That's a matter of opinion," Alexander said.

"Quit complaining and get up," Wendy said. It would seem that the princess was as cheerful as ever and in as much pain as Alexander. It took considerable effort for him to sit up again and was greeted by a wand being slowly moved over the neck and shoulders. When the pain started to subside Alexander realized she was healing his injuries.

"Gee Princess I didn't realize you cared," Alexander said.

"Oh shut up," Wendy said. "I need your help not your mouth." After nearly thirty minutes of steady healing most of Alexander's wounds were lessened so that he could move around without intense pain. There was still some dull pain if he moved too much so it would still take time to recover. "No that I'm the type to look a gifted wand in the mouth, but you're not very practiced at healing are you?" Alexander said.

"Actually I am, Koopa magic just doesn't have the same ability to heal as Mushroom. Now give me a hand," Wendy said. When the princess handed the wand off he looked up as if to ask what this was for.

"Princess I can barely use magic," Alexander said.

"I don't need you to do everything. Just repair the neck and shoulders so I can reach the rest myself," Wendy said. The request was simple enough so Alexander took the wand and as before repeated the process of mumbling the mantra and imagining energy flowing from his arms into the wand. After two tries the wand finally responded allowing the healing process to begin. Whereas the entire process with the princess took half an hour, it took almost the same amount of time for Alexander to cover a small area of the body.

"Hurry up will you?" Wendy said.

"I'm doing the best I can, it's not like I have any actually training in this," Alexander said.

"Well do better," Wendy said. Perhaps it was simply saying the right thing at the right time but her words managed to anger Alexander to the point of throwing the wand on the ground.

"That's it, I'm done. You want anymore do it yourself," Alexander said.

"Pick that wand up right now," Wendy said.

"Screw you, I had just about enough of your attitude," Alexander said, refusing to even look at her.

"Oh you haven't seen attitude yet primate," Wendy said. The anger between the two was already reaching a fever pitch and Alexander was about ready for round two with the princess. Even after their apparent truce Wendy was falling back into old habits and giving him grief at ever possible opportunity. For his part Alexander had tried to be civil but the princess was about as friendly as a cactus and his patience was at its limit.

"That freakin' tears it you jumped up reptile," Alexander said, causing Wendy to gasp in surprise at being spoken to in such a manner. "I have had ENOUGH of you. You've tried to make my life a living hell since the first day we met, what could I have possibly done to be deserving of such hatred, what?"

"Shut up and leave me alone," Wendy said.

"Hell no, if you're going to make my life so miserable I want an answer," Alexander said. "Why?"

"I hate you!" Wendy said.

"WHY?!" Alexander said, reaching out grabbed the princess by the shoulders. "What did I ever do to you, answer me!" From her refusal to answer the young man was fairly certain he was getting close to the source. After all this time, grief, and arguing it was also one Alexander wouldn't stop until he got.

"I hate you!" Wendy said.

"WHY!" Alexander said.

"I HATE YOU BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" Wendy screamed. Not even Bowser could have hit Alexander this hard and letting go he leaned back looking at the princess in silence. Of all the answers she could have given this was one that never would have been expected. To Alexander it didn't even make sense, how could Wendy possibly love him. Up until this point the young man thought of how she'd done a masterful job of hiding it.

"Princess I-"

"Just shut up and leave me alone!" Wendy said, crying by this point. Not even having the slightest idea of what to possibly do about this Alexander did the only thing he could. Very carefully so as not to hurt Wendy he leaned forward wrapping both arms her. To Alexander's surprise the princess didn't fight back, it was quite the opposite. Wendy curled up leaning against him and continued to cry. At this point Alexander knew she was hurting too much to say anything, so he let the princess just cry it out. Once things calmed down her let go and looked down at her.

"I don't understand, I thought you despised the ground I walk on," Alexander said.

"I do... but not really, I just..." Wendy said, trailing off. It was easy for Alexander to see that she was dealing with conflicting emotions and having problems sorting them out, so he decided to approach this from a different angle.

"Okay, let's do this a different way, why do you hate me?" Alexander said.

"You'll just laugh at me if I tell you," Wendy said. When the princess turned around facing away from Alexander that was also easy to discern. Having been in this position before Alexander knew she was afraid to talk about anything for fear of being made fun of.

"Prin- Wendy, you have my word that I won't laugh at you. I know there's been a lot of hatred and anger between us in the past, but that's a far cry from being outright cruel. I wouldn't do something like that," Alexander said.

"You promise?" Wendy said.

"I promise," Alexander said. When Wendy turned back around it took time for her to organize what to say and how to say it. In light of how serious the situation was Alexander didn't press and let the princess move at her own pace.

"It's not really you that I hate, it's what you represent," Wendy said.

"I don't follow," Alexander said.

"The koopa people were chased into the Badlands thousands of years ago by those Mushroom creeps and left to die, but we didn't. We fought, cried, and bled, but we survived. Against all odds we survived, built a kingdom, and eventually managed to become one of the greatest powers in Mushroom World," Wendy said.

"That's something to be proud of," Alexander said.

"You're darn right it is, and I am. So what do we need you for?" Wendy said.

"I have no idea," Alexander said. Right now he was just going with the flow letting Wendy vent her emotions to try and better understand the situation.

"That's not what I mean. The Koopa people have always managed to survive and it's because of humans that we haven't been able to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom. So what, that moron of a brother I have thinks we need one too? What, aren't the Koopa good enough to get the job done? Have we become so weak and timid we need help from a human now?" Wendy said.

"You think Ludwig sold the Koopa out by recruiting me," Alexander said.

"Exactly, humans are the source of our problem, not the solution," Wendy said. Now Alexander was finally starting to better understand the princess and the source of their problems. Wendy was very proud of her heritage. Within the people of the Dark Lands there was an enduring power that told of their will to survive and it was indeed something to be proud of.

"So why do you love me?" Alexander said, watching the princess shrink away from the question. "I haven't laughed at you yet and I don't plan to start now."

"I don't know," Wendy said, looking away.

"Surely you have some idea," Alexander said.

"You're gonna bug me about this until I say something aren't you?" Wendy said.

"Well it is something of a point of interest, so yeah, I probably will," Alexander said. Again the princess fell silent trying to think of what to say. The difference now is that there seemed to be a lot to say and Alexander could also see a lot of pain in her eyes.

"Because when you first got here, all I did was make fun of and torment you. I was cruel, mean, vicious, I never did a single nice thing for you. Then in the courtyard when that thing almost... killed me..." Wendy said, starting to cry again. "When I was laying there bleeding you... you would have had every right to leave me there and walk away... but you didn't."

"You needed help, that was the only thing that mattered," Alexander said.

"Don't you get it you stupid ape, I was a total bitch from the get go and then you just had to save my life. Do you know how that made me feel?" Wendy said.

"Honestly, no," Alexander said.

"Then after going to Earth and finding out that you grew up in that orphanage, had such a hard life, then had to deal with all the crap I threw at you. It made me feel horrible," Wendy said. "I couldn't imagine what it would be like to grow up not knowing who your parents were."

"Or watching children around you being adopted by loving families and wondering why no one wanted you. Why there was no out there for you, why no one wanted... to love you," Alexander said. To remember such long buried and ignored memories that had brought so much pain and sadness as a child, it unearthed a lot of pain that was hard even for him to deal with.

"Wondering if all of your so called friends really care about you at all, or just want to be around you because you're a princess," Wendy said. When Alexander looked down, for the first time since coming to Mushroom World he didn't see a princess, a Koopa, or even a hated enemy. There in front of him was a vulnerable young woman who had known much pain and suffering in her own life and only wanted someone to love her. Not the princess, or the daughter of a king, just plain, simple, Wendy.

Both of them had bared painful memories and emotions to the other and when Alexander brushed a hand along her cheek, the princess smiled. It wasn't one of deceit or malice, it was a genuine smile showing that deep down inside Wendy there was still hope for some sort of happiness in her life. This was also the first time Alexander had ever really felt anything like this, seeing much of himself in the princess. The desire to love, to have someone to share things with and be a part of their life. How things could have come to this Alexander couldn't even begin to say, but as he leaned down passionately kissing Wendy, she responded in kind.


	12. Chapter XII

"I can't believe I just had sex with a human," Wendy said, curled up next to Alexander under the parachute.

"That was my first time with a Koopa too, it was good for me, how about you?" Alexander said. The princess responded by looking at Alexander and snapping her teeth. For Wendy the experience was absolutely exhilarating... not that she had any frame of reference to go by. Under difference circumstances she would have gone for seconds but there wasn't time. The princess was fairly certain that the airship wasn't alone meaning they would need to get back to the castle as soon as possible.

Now that they weren't trying to kill one another or make out, Alexander finished healing her back enough for the princess to do the rest herself. The difference in the ability to heal between magic styles was also noticeable as well as Wendy was still stiff. Then she smirked wondering if it was the injuries or the recent... exercise. It was still hard for Wendy to understand her feeling or how she could end up loving someone that, until so recently, was considered a hated enemy. In many ways what scared her even more was that Alexander seemed to care as well.

"What was that turtle cloud thing that tried to come after me?" Alexander said.

"Lakitu Para-rescue, every airship has several on board in the event someone falls over the side," Wendy said. "Now let's get a move on, we need to get back to the castle."

"Before we do that, were do you see this going? Us I mean," Alexander said. That was a question Wendy was hoping that he wouldn't have asked. That put the princess in quite a bind as the only thing she could do was be straight up with him.

"Truthfully, I don't see it going anywhere," Wendy said.

"Because you're a princess and I'm just some guy, or you're just not interested in something like that?" Alexander said. Already Wendy could see the answer hurt him, but it wasn't for the reason he thought. Leaning up she kissed Alexander on the mouth gently.

"It's not that. I would love to where this goes, but the last time father found out I had a boyfriend he ended up in emergency surgery," Wendy said.

"Eeeeew," Alexander said. "How about we just keep this on the down low so nobody finds out about it." In response to that Wendy put her hands on her hips and looked down at him.

"Yeah I see your point, not much gets by King Koopa," Alexander said.

"Exactly," Wendy said, then snuggled up to him. "But I'm willing to keep this quiet as long as possible if you are." The two shared another quick kiss before the situation turned back to the matter at hand.

"Why hasn't the airship come back for us yet?" Alexander said, looking into the sky.

"If they took too much damage in battle and had to activate-" Wendy said, stopping short at mentioning something she shouldn't have.

"Activate what?" Alexander said.

"Nothing, and don't ask, seriously," Wendy said. "I'm not allowed to talk about it, father's orders. They probably had to make an emergency landing at the castle."

"Fair enough, why don't you call for a ride?" Alexander said. Wendy was about dig for her cell phone when something could be seen approaching in the distance. At first it was nothing more than a dust cloud then as it got closer they could see it was a dark brown, vaguely rectangular, armored military transport. About to sigh in relief Wendy saw a turtle lean out the passenger side window firing a wand behind the vehicle. Soon she was able to see they were being pursued by another vehicle similar in design to the airship that attacked them. It was made out of black metal and wedge shaped, only inverted so the wider portion hovered just off the ground.

"Wave them past us," Wendy said. As Alexander started to wave at the transport to keep going as she drew a wand and start and started to concentrate. The driver apparently understood the motion well enough to speed by them, as the other vehicle approached Wendy leaped forward and slammed her fist onto the ground causing a large sheet of solid rock to erupt from the ground. The black vehicle slammed into the rock at full speed coming up off the ground as the front collapsed before it slammed back down in a cloud of dust.

"Nice one princess," Alexander said.

"Yes, it was," Wendy said. A hatch on the vehicle opened as a wounded invader started to climb out and barely had time to hit the ground before Alexander was beating it to death bare-handed. Another appeared behind him from the hatch weapon in hand, only to be struck down by a blast of energy from Wendy's wand. With two enemies dead Alexander climbed inside the hatch and the sound of a fight erupted briefly before two more bodies were tossed out onto the ground.

"All clear," Alexander said.

"Let's go," Wendy said. The armored transport was already parked a short distance behind them waiting.

"I'm coming," Alexander said, there was another moment of tense waiting before he popped out of the hatching holding some components from the enemy vehicle. "These look important."

The two quickly got into the armored transport and it took off in the direction of the castle. By now Wendy was already stressed out realizing another full scale attack was under way. They were already traveling at more than 100 mph in an effort to get back as soon as possible and along the way one good sign did appear. The airship that had attacked them could be seen about four mile to the left as nothing more than a smoking wreck on the ground, yet Bowser's airship was nowhere to be seen. That meant he'd likely come out on the better end of things and was directing the soldiers in battle by now. The vehicle was again rocked by an explosion and quickly scrambling for the back window Wendy could see three enemy vehicles in pursuit this time.

"We've got three on us this time," Wendy said.

"We're not gonna make it," the turtle in the passenger seat said. "There's too many of them." Even Wendy was somewhat curious as to why the driver just laughed to himself.

"Remember the little red button?" the turtle driver said.

"Yeah," the passenger said.

"Push the little red button," the driver said. "And you may want to put on a seat belt." At the sound of that both Wendy and Alexander quickly sat down strapping themselves into the seat. As soon as the little red button was pushed the speedometer, which already went up to 170 mph, buried itself in the dashboard. All four occupants were pressed against the back of their seats as the scenery, such as it was, passed by almost too fast to see leaving their pursuers in the distance.

"Yeeeeeeeeehaw!" Alexander yelled. In the seat next to him Wendy was trying her level best not to throw up. The immense burst of speed only lasted for about seven seconds before things slowed down to only moderately dangerous speeds once more, however it was enough to put a considerable distance between them and their attackers. As the castle came into view Wendy let out a shocked gasp at the scene before them. It would seem the enemy adapted their tactics to the situation at hand. While the rest of the air force was engaged in battle with enemy ships above the castle there was another ship with extremely thick armor hovering over the courtyard as dozens upon dozens of invaders leapt over the sides to attack.

"Well that's not good," Alexander said. "How are we suppose to get past that?"

"Divert to B2," Wendy said. The driver quickly turned the wheel to the right nearly bringing the vehicle up onto two wheels. Now it was Alexander who was trying to keep his lunch down as the vehicle sped away from the castle. Not sure what was going on he looked over at Wendy.

"What's a B2?" Alexander said.

"Just watch and learn," Wendy said. For Alexander the situation only became more confusing when the vehicle flew past a large drainage pipe some five miles away before pulling a high speed u-turn and heading in.

"You might want to hold onto something," Wendy said. Both of them grabbed onto handle bars overhead as the driver started taking corners through the sewer fast enough to bounce the vehicle off of walls at some points. Several turns later they came to a dead end where the water drained in from above and began to pick up speed.

"Wall... wall wall!" Alexander said. The young man winced a few moments before impact, then when the vehicle continued to drive he opened an eye looking around curiously.

"Illusionary wall," Wendy said. To the sound of water splashing as they drove the tunnel turned upward after a few miles exiting into a gray stone room with a large net. The armored transport cleared the floor by several inches only stopped by the net, then it felt like something from below hooked onto the vehicle finally bringing it to a halt.

"I have got to get me one of these," Alexander said.

"Father doesn't sell armored transports to the public," Wendy said.

"I meant the driver," Alexander said. As the group exited the driver and passenger drew weapons quickly running into the castle. Wendy took off after them to help do her part in repelling the invaders and came face to face with a disturbing sight. Nearing the main keep that lead into the courtyard Wendy could see the fighting was already starting to spill into the castle itself. The invaders had breached the outer courtyard and the fighting was a complete mess, there were no lines of defense and the soldiers were being forced to fight in small groups. One of the attackers leapt at Wendy from the side and without even looking over she held up the wand blasting it to pieces.

"I don't think so, Alexander, help me-" Wendy stopped short upon looking back seeing that Alexander was nowhere to be found and grumbled something about a useless primate. The tide of battle soon started to change when Morton appeared from inside the castle with a mace almost as big as Wendy. Wielding it like a profession baseball player he started taking the enemy out in small groups and she wasted no time in providing support. As Morton cleared the main keep Wendy covered her brother's flanks and back keeping stray enemies and bay and soon the soldiers formed a defensive line slowly pushing the enemy back. Once they were back outside in the courtyard Wendy could see the larger ship was still pouring soldiers into the courtyard.

There was a small group of magi-koopa firing into the ship's underbelly but with the thick armor plating it was like throwing rocks at a tank. The strangest thing to Wendy was the lack of her father's presence, normally in a situation like this he would be in the thick of battle commanding the soldiers. Then as she looked into the sky the question answered itself. Above them the enemy fleet was pressing the advantage as two of Bowser's airships began to fall out of the sky in flames. With only three friendly ships left and seven enemies the castle was shaken by the sound of a loud thud.

"Oh no," Wendy said. That feeling was something that she'd only felt once before but it was unmistakable. It was the very thing she couldn't tell Alexander about earlier, looking back she could see Bowser's badly beaten airship rising above the castle, only without any of the propellers in motion, in fact the three port engines were completely destroyed. Instead there was a bright blue line of energy running across the lower potion of the ship's hull and Wendy knew what was happening. Though her father had other airships many of them were stationed in other cities as part of the defense force and wouldn't make it here in time.

Because of how desperate the situation was becoming Bowser had activated the ship's anti-gravity engines forcing an already battered and beaten ship into a conflict in what still wasn't an assured victory. This was desperate because the anti-gravity engines were in violation of the Technologies Accord. If anyone saw this and put the pieces together the political fallout could be devastating, yet in light of total annihilation there didn't seem to be much choice. The situation only got worse as three of the remaining enemy ships broke away to attack Bowser's pummeling it with a constant barrage of fire. It wasn't long before the energy shields failed and despite its best efforts to fire back there was a massive explosion in the underbelly of the ship, Wendy recognized that as the ship's main reactor. Without that they were dead in the water.

The blue line of the external anti-gravity engine flicked and died before the ship began losing altitude. As it began tilting toward the earth below Wendy watched as the ship was steered in the direction of one of the smaller attacking ships which tried and failed to move out of the way. To the sound of sheering metal the smaller ship exploded destroying the front of Bowser's ship. Wendy looked on waiting and hoping.

"Come on... come on..." Wendy said. As the massive metal hulk plummeted toward the ground part of the aft section detached as the escape shuttle's engines ignited and started to head back in the direction of the castle. The shuttle veered from side to side to avoid incoming fire from one of the enemy ships that started to pursue.

"Leave him alone you bastards!" Wendy yelled. The escape shuttle was struck by a blast of energy from the enemy vessel and started to veer out of control sending Wendy into a panic. When the enemy vessel was struck by a massive blast of energy from below tearing through the underbelly she blinked for a moment and looked down. So engrossed in the battle above Wendy hadn't noticed the enemy had stopped pouring into the courtyard. At first it seemed like the attack came from the enemy vessel but that didn't make any sense. About to look around for another source a second blast of energy from the ship's main deck cannon tore the already pursuing enemy vessel in two.

"Okay..." Wendy said, not sure what was going on. The ship continued to hover in the air over the courtyard for a moment before rising into the air unsteadily and firing on the other enemy vessels. This left Wendy at a complete loss for what was going on as the rest of the enemy ships broke away to attack one of their own. Her attention was quickly drawn back to the escape shuttle that was trailing smoke as it headed toward the castle and it didn't take long for the soldiers to figure out the trajectory and clear the entire left side of the courtyard. Specifically designed to withstand considerable impact the shuttle, a thin metal wedge roughly thirty feet long, tore through the castle's curtain wall sending chucks of stone into the air. It continued to slide across the courtyard sending up a shower of sparks and into the main keep tearing the two massive partially open wooden door off their hinges.

When it finally came to a stop Roy beat Wendy to leaping onto the top and ripping the hatch off and much to her relief a slightly dazed Bowser appeared not too long afterward. Still a little unsteady the koopa sovereign climbed down and was nearly power tackled by Wendy who was relieved to see her father alive and only slightly battered. In the process a few additional dazed soldiers piled out of the escape shuttle as well. Setting her down he walked to the keep's exit along with Roy and Morton and looked up as the battle in the sky raged on.

"What in the world is going on?" Bowser said.

"Ya got me on dat one," Roy said. With the soldiers in the courtyard no longer engaged in battle everyone looked on as the massive airship attacked the others with the help of the three remaining koopa ships. The enemy didn't seem to pay the other vessels any attention and were solely focused on destroying their own. The larger airship fired several more times and managed to take out all but one of the other ships before it was finally destroyed and it wasn't long before the three koopa ships took care of it. As the larger ship began to plummet toward the ground everyone watched as a Lakitu Para-rescue unit flew out of one of the koopa vessels toward the deck of the enemy ship. A few seconds later it rose up carrying a single occupant clad in a black leather outfit topped by a head of solid white hair.

"You have got to be kidding me," Wendy said. Several of the other soldiers started to laugh while others cheered and looking up she could see Bowser standing there with both arms folded. Despite his normally neutral expression Wendy knew her father well enough to know that even he was impressed by what had just happened. When he initially disappeared after their arrival Wendy had no idea where Alexander had gone but the idea that he had somehow taken over the enemy vessel hovering over the courtyard never occurred to her. For that matter she was curious as to how he'd even gotten onto the ship to begin with.

As the battle finally came to an end Wendy walked back into the castle and while loathe to admit it even she was impressed by his actions. The thought of having gotten together with someone capable of such destructive and deadly actions made her feel pretty good. That thought was quickly replaced by the realization she was becoming more attracted to a human and quickly tossed aside. Once Bowser found out about it the little tryst would be over so Wendy wanted to keep herself from becoming too attached. Despite her earlier admission of loving Alexander the princess was trying her best not to. Ever since she was old enough to date Bowser had scared off all of Wendy's boyfriends, one of the few things she didn't like about him. He was an overprotective father gone crazy sometimes.

While Bowser was treated for his injuries in the castle's infirmary Wendy found Alexander inside the castle amidst a crowd of excited soldiers, even Roy gave him a hearty slap on the back. Something to which the princess just rolled her eyes. Once the excitement died down Wendy fell into step alongside Alexander as he headed for the infirmary as well. While not injured in any considerable fashion he still possessed several cuts and bite marks.

"Follow me," Wendy said.

"Mind if I get wounds treated first?" Alexander said.

"I'll treat them myself now come on you blasted primate," Wendy said.

"Coming Princess Turtle," Alexander said. To this Wendy only flipped him off as the continued down the hall. Largely she was curious about how he got onto the ship in the first place and as they walked toward the royal residential wing he explained. After seeing how low the ship was hovering over the courtyard Alexander got the idea after seeing Bowser leap off one of the balconies during the first battle. With the air force tried up in battle he knew it wouldn't be likely for them to attack so he leapt off one of the balconies onto the ship's deck. After that he killed everyone on the main deck, sealed the lower decks where all the soldiers were coming from and took control of the ship. After that Alexander mostly played it by ear piloting the ship.

By the time the story finished they were in Wendy's room sitting on the bed as she passed a wand over his injuries to heal them. Listening to the story she was surprised at how Alexander never once mentioned being scared the entire time, to hear him tell the tale it sounded almost like he was having fun. Passing a hand over his chest to make sure the wound was fully healed, Wendy soon found herself still rubbing it long after determining the wound was closed. For a reason she couldn't explain the princess felt herself drawn to him. If it was his bravery, daring, or something else Wendy couldn't tell, yet after finally admitting her feelings for him and then trying to deny them it was something that was quickly becoming impossible.

The more she sat there looking at Alexander the most she came to admire those things about him. The young man had no hesitation about throwing himself into seemingly impossible situations and somehow managed to come out alive. Never before had Wendy met someone like this outside her family and the feel of his skin against hers was very arousing. By this time the conversation had come to a stop and Alexander placed a hand under her chin. As her face rose to meet his the two kissed once more and slowly fell back onto the bed.

Some Time Later...

Under the covers of the bed Wendy laid there for a time thinking about the situation after Alexander left. In retrospect Wendy realized she'd managed to fool herself into believing the invitation was only to hear a story and heal some minor injuries. The situation was becoming hectic for her so Wendy decided to take her mind off things by watching some television and raided her chocolate stash before settling in for some relaxation. No sooner had she turned on the television and popped a chocolate drop into her mouth than a text came through on the cell phone. With a growl she dug the phone out of her shell and let out an exasperated sigh. It was Ludwig calling for another family meeting, this time in his personal laboratory, at least the destination was only a few halls over. The television went dark with the click of a remote and walking out of her room Wendy headed for his and was the first to arrive.

Without even knocking she walked inside heading for Ludwig's laboratory and found her brother hard as work alongside Iggy. The two often teamed up for projects requiring considerable research. Ludwig was a scientific genius while Iggy knew more about technology and mechanical engineering than just about anyone in the castle. When it came to intellect the two were a deadly combination. Wendy snickered to herself thinking they were a perfect counterpart to Roy and Morton whom she often referred to as Dumb and Dumber. Those two were about as thick as they came but not a pair you wanted to get into a fight with. Once the rest of the family and Alexander arrived Ludwig began his presentation.

"Thank you all for joining me on such short notice. As you know Iggy and I have been working relentless to uncover as much as we can about the race of creatures that had laid siege to the castle twice now. Before I begin however I would like to point out that without the help of Alexander the data I have prepared likely would not be available," Ludwig said.

"Me?" Alexander said.

"Indeed, after your return to the castle one of the components you recovered from the destroyed enemy vessel was in fact the main data core that contained a wealth of information pertaining to our attackers," Ludwig said.

"Now hold on just a minute, I brought you that stuff two hours ago. Are you telling you you've already cracked the security measures that were no doubt in place and decoded an alien language?" Alexander said.

"Actually I cracked the encryption codes," Iggy said.

"Indeed, and I decoded the language. However I must admit it was one of the more difficult ones I have encountered. It took me nearly fifteen minutes to decipher," Ludwig said.

"Only fifteen minutes?" Wendy said, mumbling to herself. After that Ludwig and Iggy took turns explaining that the race they were dealing with were called the Stinit and were in fact from a region of space far from Mushroom World. This bit of information was ascertained through a log entry made by one of the Stinit commanders. When the entry was played everyone watched as the commander talked at length about their mission and his orders to attack the castle of a race they had come to know as the Koopa. While the words were in English the movements of the commanders mouth didn't match, that and it being Ludwig's voice gave away that this was a translation played over the video.

Once the video finished the mystery surrounding their sudden appearances was also revealed. The Stinit were using a station that allowed them to fold space and travel vast distances in a short amount of time. While Wendy didn't fully understand what space folding was she got the general idea it allowed them to travel quickly and open up portals within the Dark Lands to attack.

"If they can open up these space folds to attack us, why haven't they just come right into the castle?" Wendy said.

"Because from what we've been able to determine from other log entries the Stinit themselves didn't build the space station, they only found it after it was abandon for an unknown period of time and are still trying to work out exactly how the technology works," Iggy said. "As a result they can't always aim the their exit points with considerable accuracy."

"Indeed, although I've still not been able to ascertain who she is," Ludwig said, mumbling to himself.

"She?" Bowser said.

"Yes, there was a reference in one of the log entries stating they she told them where the space station was, but nothing else to indicate the identity of this mystery person," Iggy said. After this there was considerable discussion regarding what to do next and how to deal with the situation involving the Stinit invaders. At this point Wendy lost interest hearing some sort of mention about needing one of the commanders alive to proceed with the next step of the plan. If they were going to attack the space station directly they were going to need some serious muscle. When the mention of sending Roy of Morton was proffered the idea was rejected by Bowser who wanted to keep them close to home in the event of another attack. When the room fell silent Wendy glanced around seeing everyone looking in her direction.

"What?" Wendy said.

"Are you up for it or not?" Bowser Jr said.

"Up for what, I was uh... thinking about something," Wendy said.

"Recruiting him," Bowser Jr said. For a moment Wendy was at a loss as she'd heard them mention something about needing some more muscle but didn't know who they were talking about. For several seconds she looked around before it popped into her mind who they were talking. There was only one other person in Mushroom World that qualified in any true capacity as muscle.

"Oh hell no, you're not getting me within a mile of that animal," Wendy said.

"Wendy, you know he's not fond of Koopa, with the exception of you to whom he appears to have taken quite a liking. You're probably the only one of us he'll even talk to. Besides I don't think he'll turn down an offer for 1,000 coins," Larry said. There mere thought of even being in the same room with that man made Wendy's skin crawl. He was rude, crude, and utterly disgusting. All eyes in the room were still on her as a grudging agreement was given. After being told the further details of the offer and before any other assignment could be given, Wendy made her way out of the room thoroughly disgusted by the one she had. This was not a task the princess was looking forward to and was eager to get it over with as soon as possible. This time Wendy called the motor pool at one of the kingdom's outposts and told them to have a vehicle ready for her upon arrival.

After a quick visit to the castle's pipe room Wendy arrived at one of the Dark Lands military outposts that was situated in neutral territory beyond the control of any kingdom or power. It was however a vital point of travel allowing access to several other areas. The land here wasn't much better than that of the Dark Lands with only barren ground and occasional patches of weeds but it served its purpose. Like most of the other military bases for the House of Koopa the main building was a large stone barracks surrounded by a fifteen foot tall chain link fence. There were administrative buildings near the back and a large paved area for vehicles. Near the front gate a kart was waiting for the princess, fully fueled and already cranked.

For a situation like this the kart was perfect as it was high speed and very maneuverable. The vehicle looked like little more than a dune buggy but was in fact quite a piece of engineering. Taking a seat Wendy made sure to buckle up and without a word to the guard standing by the vehicle she put the accelerator to the floor. The tires spun and the princess literally burned rubber leaving the outpost and while the mission was something she hated, this wasn't. Wendy loved driving karts at high speed and tore through the area that was to the southwest of the Dark Lands at more than one-hundred miles an hour. Keeping the kart straight she activated one of three nitro uses the vehicle came with. The burst of speed only last seven seconds but during that time Wendy let out a loud yell much like Alexander did on the way back to the castle.

It wasn't often that she got to go places and do things by herself so this was something to enjoy. Even at high speeds the destination in question was over two hours away so it would take some time to get there. Once again Wendy shuddered thinking about this particular mission and having to deal with one certain individual. Yet in spite of this she knew Bowser needed this done and letting him down wasn't an option. The ride itself was relatively uneventful save for a quick stop to refuel and buy some snacks. In the distance a large fortress came into view, it wasn't anything like Koopa Castle in size but was still home to someone of renown. Made of gray stone like most there was a large curtain wall that surrounded the fortress leaving only the top of the main keep and a secondary wing visible from outside.

Wendy came to a stop a short distance away and cut the engine, still sipping on a soda as she stepped out. Walking up to the front gate she pressed a button on the small panel outside which made a loud and rather cackling laugh to let it be known there was someone at the gate. At this Wendy rolled her eyes, the only fortress in all of Mushroom World that had a doorbell. There was a considerable wait before an eye panel slid open.

"Who's there?" Waluigi said.

"Wendy Koopa, is that brother of yours home?" Wendy said.

"Maybe he is maybe he ain't, what's it to you?" Waluigi said.

"Look you pallet swap reject I'm here on business from my father. Now is Wario here or not?" Wendy said.

"Wait here," Waluigi said, grumbling to himself about the comment. The eye panel slid shut and Wendy waited quietly. When the sound of the smaller door within the gate opening could be heard several minutes later she shuddered and turned around. Standing there in the door was Wario himself dressed in his normal attire of a yellow hat and short sleeved shirt with purple suspenders including a pair of tacky green shoes.

"You wanted to see me princess?" Wario said. Just as she remembered Mario's cousin was as large as her brother Roy and sported a set of very muscular arms with white gloves. This particular greeting was quite out of the ordinary for someone like Wario and Wendy knew why. For some time now the man had had a crush on her. More than once Wendy had been asked out by him and ardently rejected said request every time.

"My father asked me to come here and request your help with a problem we've developed as of late," Wendy said.

"Wouldn't have anything to do with those things attacking the castle would it?" Wario said, leaning against the door frame and crossing his arms.

"It would, what would you say to 1,000 coins in exchange for your help?" Wendy said.

"Meh, not really interested," Wario said. That alone was enough to nearly shock Wendy. The man was legendary for his greed and to simply turn down an offer like this without even hearing the details made it clear something else was going on. Aside from his greed Wario was also known to not be very fond of the koopa which is what may well have lead to such a response.

"Not interested, you haven't even heard the details yet," Wendy said.

"Don't need to, don't like working for Koopa," Wario said. There was one last trick Wendy had up her sleeve but the mere idea made her skin crawl once more. It took some effort for Wendy to swallow her pride and take one for the team. After several seconds of mental preparation she managed to force a smile and bat her eyelashes.

"Would you be interested if I told you I wasn't busy tomorrow night?" Wendy said. That drew a curious response from Wario who wasn't even looking at her when the suggestion was made. The man made no attempt to hide the fact he looking the princess over at length and a rather crooked smile kept onto one side of his mouth.

"I'm listening," Wario said.

"I don't have all the details but father needs you to help with an attack on an enemy stronghold. You will have backup though so you won't be going in alone. You'll be paid half in advance and the rest upon your return," Wendy said.

"I meant about tomorrow night," Wario said.

"Oh... well... I've got about four hours free in my schedule. I'm sure we could find something to do, dinner, a movie, stuff like that," Wendy said.

"Alright, you got yourself a deal. But we'll find something interesting to do before I go on this little mission for your father," Wario said. The two shook on it and Wendy made it a point to disinfect her hand once she got back to the castle.


	13. Chapter XIII

The next part of the mission in trying to stop the Stinit from attacking the Dark Lands was going to be quite difficult. They would need to capture one of the enemy commanders alive in order to find out more about the space folding technology they used as a means of travel. This meant they would have to wait for another attack because the shock troops were completely useless in this area. Not only were they clones, Ludwig had also found several brain implants that were designed to limit their intelligence and induce obedience. This made them little more than killing machines and they were quite effective at their job. Were it not for the high level of training koopa soldiers received it's likely they would have suffered more casualties than they already had.

The one thing that Alexander couldn't deny it is how effective they were. Even in the middle of a complete mess of a battle they could form and hold a defensive line. When that wasn't possible they formed small groups and fight back to back in a circle. Alexander learned that this was in part due to how they were trained. Instead of simply going through basic training, then advanced career training, and finally being thrown into battle, most active duty soldiers had at least five years in the service. Those with less than five years were part of the active reserves and only called into large battles during emergencies. The thing that puzzled Alexander the most was how young some of Bowser's children were. Bowser Jr couldn't have been more than ten or eleven years old. The only reason he could imagine someone like that being in a war council is that royalty started their training young.

Walking down the hall Alexander was startled by the feeling of a hand on his shoulder. It turned out to be his father Mortimer, a man to whom he'd not given much thought lately. It wasn't that Alexander didn't want to get to know him but with all of the attacks it left little time for personal matters. Mortimer gave him another hug and Alexander responded in kind.

"How are you doing son?" Mortimer said.

"Under the circumstances I'm holding together, how about you?" Alexander said.

"Well enough I suppose, can you spare some time for your old man?" Mortimer said.

"Sure, what's on your mind," Alexander said. The two began to talk casually while Alexander decided to lead him in the direction of the kitchen, it was close to lunch time so talking over a meal seemed like a good idea. Alexander settled for a hamburger with fries and a small chef salad. His father ordered a ham sandwich and a plain salad. It didn't take long for the meals to be delivered to a small side chamber and there they talked at length.

Mortimer explained to Alexander more about the man he was cloned from saying that his first son was a lot like him in some ways and different in others. Alexander Gravalski was a hard working young man who was brave, strong, cared about others, and very true to his beliefs. When asked about the differences one that his father pointed out was being a young man of few words. Some of the others were that the original Alexander wasn't a fighter, he believed in peace and only used violence in self defense. That was something that struck Alexander as odd because he'd grown up being a fighter, but there were times it was still hard for him to fight because of what was drilled into his head as a child. Violence wasn't something he would hesitate to use when needed, but it would often times make him feel guilty afterward.

It was during the course of the conversation that Alexander also learned that depending on one's point of view he actually had two mothers. The original Alexander from which his genetic material was derived was named Amelia, yet when cloned an egg was used from a woman named Aleha Donovan who had made a donation to the lab where he worked. That drew something of an odd look from Alexander as he thought about it, then another question popped into his head. Considering the length of time between the death of the first Alexander and his birth he asked Mortimer where the genetic material came from. It turned out to be the pulp from a tooth, some time back his brother had fallen down a hill during a family camping trip and knocked a tooth out after striking his jaw on a rock. Mortimer had taken the tooth, wrapped it in a handkerchief and forgotten about it for years. It was that same tooth that actually gave him the idea after the young man's death.

Another matter on Alexander's mind was when the next Stinit attack would occur. There wasn't much time between the first two attacks on the castle but there was also something else that didn't make since to him. Why would they only attack the castle and not the cities if it was genetic material they were after. The castle was without a doubt the most heavily defended position in the entire kingdom. Perhaps it had something to do with the space folding technology that they were using. There had to more to it than that but there were so many variables he was having trouble pinning them all down to make a decent educated guess.

"Tell me something dad, if you were part of an invasion force attacking a kingdom, why would you assault the castle first? It is the most heavily guarded position after all," Alexander said.

"Referring to the attacks I've been hearing so much about, well, let me think. The first thing that comes to mind is sever the head and the body will die. If the royal family were killed it would throw the kingdom into so much chaos it would impossible to mount a coordinated defense I imagine. Wouldn't be hard to conquer after that," Mortimer said.

"Well see that's just it, they're not here to conquer. I don't know if I should tell you this, but it's not the land or the kingdom the Stinit are after, it's us. More specifically our genetic material," Alexander said. That brought a rather strange look from Mortimer and he went on to explain how the Stinit were dying from a genetic breakdown and attacking other races for the genetic material to splice onto their own DNA as a means to stay alive. Before Mortimer had a chance to answer their attention was drawn by the sound of considerable activity in the castle. When Alexander got up to see what was going on he stopped someone in the hall long enough to learn the Stinit had just launched another attack, only this time it wasn't against the castle, it was a simultaneous assault on two major population centers, Turtopolis and Sledge.

Without even waiting for orders Alexander took off running for the castle's pipe room. He already knew what had to be done. With the Stinit shock troops being little more than programmed killing machines a commanding officer of some sort would be required to manage them in battle. While he didn't know much about the two cities he did know which would need more help. Sledge was the home city of the Hammer species and they were known for being vicious warriors on the battlefield. Turtopolis on the other hand was a manufacturing city filled mostly with turtles. The other thing that bothered him so much is that the time between attacks seemed to be getting shorter and shorter.

Emerging from a pipe into a military base Alexander was almost attack by a group of soldiers who didn't know who he was, but managed to convince them he worked for King Koopa by pointing out the castle was still secure and he had just come from the pipe room. Therefore having been allowed to come here he wasn't the enemy. Upon stepping outside the sight Alexander came upon was unlike anything he'd encountered before. In light of the scene in front of him the two attacks on the castle looked like schoolyard scraps. The Stinit had overrun the cities outer defenses through sheer weight of number and were pouring through the streets like a wave of purple. Alexander couldn't even begin to put a number to how many were here. The airships stationed here to protect the city had their hands full with enemy airships and it was complete chaos in the streets. Soldiers who tried to fight back were simply swallowed up by waves of Stinit shock troops.

With the military base stationed on the edge of town it gave Alexander a good view of everything that was going on and he was about to go back to the castle and report on the true strength of the attack when something caught his eye. Near the very back of the invading army he was a single Stinit soldier who was slightly taller than the others and instead of joining in the chaotic fight he was looking around carefully. As the enemy flooded through the city clearing the streets the taller Stinit snapped his fingers and the entire army shifted direction spreading further out into the city. This was exactly who Alexander was looking for, one of the Stinit commanders. Somehow he was controlling the others but staying out of the fighting himself. The only problem that faced Alexander now was getting to him.

There were a dozen Stinit shock troops that stayed close to him at all times acting as bodyguards. The commander would occasionally say something to one of them and it would respond which also clued Alexander in to the fact the shock troops appeared capable of understanding and responding to speech. The attack against Turtopolis was on such a scale that a regular armed conflict would have been pointless, the only way to stop this would be to do as Mortimer mentioned earlier, sever the head in order to kill the body. Yet the problem of simply getting to the commander remained. The first thing that came to mind for Alexander was to get away from the military base as it would likely become a target soon so he dashed out of the gate and into a portion of the city that currently wasn't being attacked.

The attack itself was taking place on the ground level so he ran into the back door of an office building nearly scaring the life out of a number of Koopa who had just started to try to barricade the door. Instead of saying anything Alexander dashed through the offices and quickly made his way to the stairwell. After a quick dash up to the roof which was about five stories he crept to the edge and peered over the side watching the attack below continue. This also allowed Alexander to quickly formulate a plan of how to attack the commander because as the shock troops continued to move into the city the he was slowly following them from behind. The idea also presented a problem because the commander was three streets over and the troops were starting to spread out.

The building across from him considerably taller but had a fire escape making Alexander glad he wasn't afraid of heights. Moving back to the middle of the roof he took off at a dead run and pushed off the edge of the roof with one foot. Flying through the air Alexander landed on the fire escape two stories lower and nearly knocked himself out slamming into the wall. After taking a moment to regather some scattered senses he wasted no time in running up to the roof. The next building over was about three stories smaller making this the harder of the two jumps. It would be a thirty foot drop to the next roof and a bad landing could easily mean broken bones or worse. Taking a deep breath Alexander made his way to the middle of the roof a second time and dashed forward pushing aside any concerns the might have, right now the only thing that mattered was the mission.

Upon landing on the next roof Alexander let himself fall forward and went into a tumbling roll to help absorb the impact of his fall and managed to avoid any broken bones. A sore knee, shoulder, and twisted thumb were what he had to settle for. With a slight limp Alexander walked over to the edge of the seven story building and looked down to see the commander looking around and continuing to direct his troops. Nearly to the building there wasn't much time to make a move. Knowing full well a seven story leap would have been suicide Alexander carefully made his way down the fire escape on this building, on the third floor he pried the window of an apartment open and climbed inside.

The idea was to avoid being seen if at all until the last moment. Fortunately the apartment didn't appear to be rented so there were no occupants to contend with. Once the commander was directly below Alexander came out of the window and jumped off the fire escape. His only chance for survival at this point would be to take out the commander before his bodyguards could react because even Alexander would be hard pressed to fight off twelve assailants from all sides at the same time. Two feet from the commander he slammed into an energy field and fell to the ground. The bodyguards were about to attack when the commander made a simple hand motion to stop them and looked down at Alexander.

"I do hope you weren't hurt too badly by the impact. It's much easier to harvest genetic material from live subjects after all," the commander said.

"Two things, one, go screw yourself, and two, when did the Stinit start speaking English?" Alexander said.

"After we scanned the brains of several of your people," the commander said. The Stinit lowered his hood to reveal a face that was different from the others. Instead of an almost football shaped head his was taller and had vaguely human facial features. His build appeared to be slightly heavier as well which told Alexander that they had already incorporated human DNA into their genetic material.

"You're still ugly as hell," Alexander said.

"Hmm yes, that aside I'm sure you have a number of question about why we're attacking this kingdom," the commander said.

"Oh we already know, but I'm not here to play twenty questions. I'm here to stomp you into the ground," Alexander said. Standing up Alexander dashed at the commander a second time only to bounce off the shield again.

"Stomp me into the ground, I fail to see how you're going to achieve such a goal when you can't even reach me. So tell me, why shouldn't I just order my guard to incapacitate you and take you back to one of our processing facilities. I'm sure you have a lot of genetic material that would be useful to us," the commander said.

"Because if you so much as touch him I'll kill you," Mortimer said. The commander suddenly became rigid when the older man seemingly melted out of a nearly alleyway he'd had walked close to and placed a jagged Stinit sword under his throat from behind.

"How did you..." the commander said.

"Simple, I watched the impact as Alexander struck your shield both times. It's based on the principle of kinetic dispersion and stops high speed attacks, however if something is slow enough it can pass right through," Mortimer said.

"Dad, knock him out, now!" Alexander said. Without questioning the reason Mortimer slammed an elbow into the back of the commander's head knocking him unconscious. The instant this happened the Stinit attacking the city went wild. Instead of moving in a smooth and orderly fashion they let out a loud wail and started to attack anything that moved, including one another. Alexander was forced to grab a sword and kill three of the Stinit bodyguards who attacked him while the others tore themselves to pieces like wild animals. The two quickly disappeared back into the alley and Alexander threw the commander over one shoulder as his father was having some difficulty dragging the creature. The entire idea of the Stinit losing the ability to fight without a commander was only a guess up to this point, but it was one Alexander was glad to have been right about.

"What the hell are you doing here, have you lost your mind?" Alexander said.

"Just because I'm old doesn't mean I'm useless, besides you really think I'm going to let me son just run off to some battlefield by himself?" Mortimer said.

"That's not what I mean, this is a battlefield alright and it's no place for a geneticist," Alexander said. As the neared the end of the alley Mortimer picked up a spear from a fallen Turtle soldier and left his son wondering exactly what was going on as he cleared a path through the wild Stinit displaying a level of combat ability most wouldn't think him capable of. By the time the reached the military base Mortimer had killed nearly two dozen Stinit soldiers and the two quickly made for the warp pipe that lead back to the castle. Once they were safely back Mortimer slid down against a pipe breathing heavily making it obvious the older man had severely taxed himself during the fight. After Alexander delivered the Stinit commander to some of the soldiers, with explicit instructions that Ludwig needed him alive in the event he woke up and caused problems, he returned to the pipe room taking a seat next to Mortimer.

"Alright Captain Commando, care to explain where you learned to fight like that?" Alexander said.

"The fields of Vietnam," Mortimer said.

"Why would they send a geneticist into battle," Alexander said, to which Mortimer only laughed.

"I wasn't a geneticist back then, I joined the military so they would pay for me to go to college. Vietnam was just... something best left in the past," Mortimer said.

From that last comment Alexander knew it best not to ask anymore questions about that particular subject. It was a well known fact that many Vietnam veterans didn't like to talk about what happened in combat. The other thing that worried Alexander was that he knew a lot of veterans had problems when they were forced back into combat as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder. In light of this he decided it best to talk about something other than combat.

"So were you a geneticist while you were in the army?" Alexander said.

"Hmm, oh yes, spent fifteen-five years in and made it up to First Sergeant before I finally retired," Mortimer said.

"You didn't apply to become an officer?" Alexander said.

"Nah, I never wanted that kind of responsibility. All I ever wanted to do was be a geneticist," Mortimer said.

"I'm gonna take a shot in the dark here and say you succeeded," Alexander said, holding his arms out. The two laughed a little as he helped Mortimer up. One of the first things Alexander did was find Bowser who was coordinating the battle in the castle's war room in the lower levels. It was quite different from the other rooms. There were three massive computer screens at the front of the room displaying real time information on the battles that were occurring in both Turtopolis and Sledge. On the floor of the room there were numerous stations where soldiers monitored other information and Bowser was giving a variety of commands that were being relayed to the battlefield. Thing seemed to be going worse in Sledge than they were Turtopolis and Alexander had a good idea why, so he walked up next to the king, but waited for him to say something so as not to interrupt.

"Have battalion three pull back and reinforce seven, we can't afford to lose the magi-koopa corp," Bowser said. "Have nine and eleven move in and attack their flanks, we need to divide the enemy forces and contain them."

"If you really want to cause chaos in the ranks take out the commander," Alexander said.

"Maintain your positions," Bowser said, then looked to Alexander. "Explain."

"The enemy are limited intelligence shock troops who receive their commands and coordinate through a central battlefield commander. If he goes down the enemy lose it and will attack anything, including one another," Alexander said.

"I take it you were in Turtopolis recently," Bowser said.

"Indeed and Ludwig has his live commander now. Also be advised the commander is usually protected by a dozen soldiers and a kinetic energy shield. The shield stops high speed attacks while something slow can get through," Alexander said.

"You did well to capture him," Bowser said.

"Actually it was my father who captured him," Alexander said. To that Bowser looked at him curiously for a moment and Alexander just shrugged a little. After returning to commanding the battle the king relayed the new information. It took nearly an hour but the soldiers in Sledge finally managed to take out the commander and as before the Stinit forces went wild. It didn't make the battle any easier as they became even more violent once they went savage. The information that came in after the battle from both cities indicated that Sledge had sustained a loss of nearly half their standing military and Turtopolis lost all but ten percent.

"This isn't good, if we don't find a way to end this war soon we're going to be overwhelmed," Alexander said.

"I'm well aware of that, I want you to go speak with Ludwig and find out how long it's going to take before we can mount an offensive," Bowser said.

How they were even going to do that Alexander wasn't sure, the only thing that he could imagine is that there had to be a way for the soldiers to return after a battle and that was the information that Ludwig was likely seeking. On the way to Ludwig's lab it also occurred to him that a lot of the soldiers attacked on foot so if they could reverse the travel process it's possible they could mount an offensive as well and take the fight to the enemy. Inside Ludwig's lab the commander was already awake but in a chair with all four limbs, his waist and neck strapped down. There was also a small trickle of purple blood down the right side of his mouth which was also gagged.

"Soldiers rough him up?" Alexander said, coming up behind Ludwig who was looking at something through a microscope.

"I discovered a suicide capsule in one of his teeth during the initial examination and was forced to remove it,," Ludwig said. "Am I to assume father seeks a time frame for our forces to mount a counter offensive."

"Nothing gets by that towering intellect of yours does it?" Alexander said. To that Ludwig stood up and gave him a dirty look. Then instead of immediately answering he went over to a computer and started to type. When Alexander followed him the display didn't appear to contain information about anything regarding space folding, instead there was a magnified image of a nanite.

"Wise cracks aside what do nanites have to do with the matter at hand?" Alexander said.

"It's part of a larger puzzle that I am having to solve to address the matter of launching a counter-offensive. I came across these things during my initial autopsy of one of their soldiers. Under normal circumstances physical travel though a fold in space of the type the Stinit use would prove lethal," Ludwig said.

"So these nanites make that possible," Alexander said.

"They are only one part of the puzzle. There is also a genetic component but with the sheer amount of information to sort through I cannot give a definitive time frame," Ludwig said.

"Maybe my father can help, he was a geneticist before he retired," Alexander said.

"Then by all means please do direct him here, at this juncture any help would be welcome. I will tell the guards to allow him to pass," Ludwig said. With a nod Alexander started to leave, he almost made it to the door when Ludwig called for him to wait. Standing up from the computer the prince walked over to him coming unusually close and narrowing both eyes. This made Alexander suspicious as Ludwig was almost always up to something, but decided to let him speak first.

"Before you go I would like to discuss the arrangement between the two of us set forth by father," Ludwig said.

"What of it?" Alexander said.

"I want you to nullify it and say nothing," Ludwig said.

"Now why would I do something like that?" Alexander said, folding his arms and leaning against the door.

"Because if you don't I will tell father that you're having inappropriate relations with my sister," Ludwig said. That shocked Alexander but he managed to keep any hint of it off his face. He also wondered how the prince had managed to find out about it, but he wasn't about to just readily admit something like that. The truth of the matter was that he was starting to care for Wendy which was a new feeling for Alexander. In the past when he dated someone he did care about them, but not on a level like this. Never before had he begun to feel something so deep.

"You think I'm sleeping with the very woman I tried to beat into the floor so recently?" Alexander said.

"Indeed I do, because either you are having relations with my sister, or I have made a grievous error in judgment and you have become particularly fond of Pink Petals, her favorite perfume," Ludwig said. At this Alexander's eyes narrowed not realizing that during their two previous encounters any of Wendy's perfume had managed to rub off on him. Either way Ludwig had him cornered and they both knew it.

"And if I agree you keep that mouth of yours shut?" Alexander said.

"I could really care less if my sister develops feelings towards you or not because once father finds out your odds of survival will be infinitesimal. Until then however nullify our agreement and I'll 'shut my mouth' as you phrased it," Ludwig said.

"Consider it nullified," Alexander said, speaking through bared teeth. Though upset over being found out Alexander wasn't as mad as some might think. The truth of the matter was that he would prefer to keep seeing Wendy as long as possible rather than have Ludwig act as his personal servant. The one thing that did worry him however was Bowser finding out, this was the second time violent retribution was mentioned. In light of how he knew about the identification card at the trial it was only a matter of time. Alexander well knew Bowser was possessed of a cunning intellect and little if anything could be kept hidden from the king in his own castle.

While he could understand a king and a father being protective over his daughter, such over protectiveness didn't make sense. Why would Bowser want to keep people from dating his daughter, did he really consider all of them to be worthless in this regard. The pieces also didn't add up because he knew for a fact that Roy had a girlfriend, he'd heard the prince talking to her over the phone with Bowser close enough to overhear everything, yet the king didn't seem bothered in the slightest. If there was gender bias in Koopa culture Alexander couldn't see it, the army itself was almost thirty-five percent female and they fought on the battlefield just like the men. There were a number of female generals and two members of Bowser's inner circle of advisers were female. On the way down the hall leading from the royal residential wing a pair of hammer guards walked up behind Alexander each grabbing an arm and continued down the hall.

"Nice to meet you too, so where are we going in such a hurry?" Alexander said.

"To the throne room, his majesty had commanded your presence, immediately," one guard said. At that Alexander had a sneaking suspicion that in regards to Wendy, eventually had become now. Up to this point any time Bowser called him it was by messenger, not by guards who drug him down a hall. When they reached the throne room the king was seated on the throne with what appeared to be a full court. Once again there were all manners of nobles gathered, some arrayed in an almost ridiculous amount of finery. That however went unnoticed by Alexander as he saw the look in Bowser's eyes and immediately knew it meant trouble. When he was dumped in front of the throne Alexander took a knee, bowed his head and said nothing. There was a long silence in the throne room and the tension could be cut with a knife.

"Do you really think me such a fool as to not know what goes on in my own house?" Bowser said.

"A lot goes in you house, to what are you referring?" Alexander said.

"I'm talking about my daughter!" Bowser said, standing up from the throne he slammed a foot down on the first step of the dais. This lead to a gasp from the crowd as they finally understood what was going on. To that Alexander said nothing because he didn't know what to say. The king had him dead to rights and there was no denying it, not only would denying be an insult to Wendy, it would only anger Bowser further because they would both know it was a lie.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" Bowser said.

"The only thing I can, I don't know what you've been told but I care for Wendy very much," Alexander said.

"How you feel is irrelevant, the only reason your not in a cell right is because I still need your help with this war. Once it's over however a re-evaluation of your service to the throne will be in order. Until then I'm ordering you to cease your relationship with my daughter, dismissed," Bowser said. What Bowser had said struck Alexander deeper than just about anything else that he had experienced here. Up until now he wasn't very sure how he felt about Wendy, but the idea of not being able to see her again hurt more than nearly being killed by Roy. The princess was the only person Alexander had ever truly started to care about and he wasn't going to just stand there and let someone take her away.

"No," Alexander said, standing up as Bowser turned toward the throne.

"What did you say?" Bowser said, looking over his shoulder.

"I'm good enough to serve you, I'm good enough to fight for you, I save Wendy's life, avert the second attack on this castle almost single-handed, then I bring back a live enemy commander. Yet now I'm not good enough?" Alexander said.

"I said you were dismissed!" Bowser said.

"And I said no. I care about Wendy, she cares about me and I'm not going to let anything come between us. Even you," Alexander said. The next thing he saw was a blinding flash of light as Bowser spun around backhanding him nearly half way across the courtroom. The blow was hard enough to nearly knock Alexander unconscious but he managed to force his mind to regain itself and stood up. Still groggy he had to blink a few times and and looked up to see Bowser standing at the bottom of the dais.

"Still feeling brave boy?" Bowser said.

"My answer hasn't changed, you want me to stop seeing Wendy you'll have to kill me," Alexander said. When Bowser held both arms out those gathered in the courtroom backed up almost to the walls and standing there the king leaned forward letting out a bellicose roar and came charging forward.


	14. Chapter XIV

Back at the castle Wendy just closed her eyes and shuddered at the idea of going on a date with Wario. The man's very presence made her uncomfortable and stopping at one of the many restrooms in the castle both hands were washed several times. Once everything was over Wendy decided to make it a point to let her father know just what it took to get Wario's cooperation for this little mission he had in mind. At this point all she wanted to do was curl up next to Alexander and pretend it never happened. That thought snapped Wendy up into looking at her reflection in the mirror. Without even realizing it she was thinking about him.

What was it about Alexander that she was so attracted to, he was handsome for a human but not a drop dead knockout. Was it his personality... that annoyed her to no end. Perhaps it was how courageous he was... definitely not. The more Wendy thought about it the more she realized it was something completely different. What attracted her to Alexander was that they had both suffered greatly in their lives, they both knew what it meant to hurt, to be alone, to be misunderstood. Even though they hadn't been together very long he was also one of the few people who'd never tried to use her position or ask her for something. Then there was that undefinable quality that just seemed to draw them together. That he was a cocky little thing also made Wendy laugh a little, if anything that human had a mouth on him.

In the middle of thinking about everything her cell phone rang. It annoyed Wendy to no end that she got calls at all hours of the day and night but at a time like this is could be something important. The call was from one of Wendy's informants that kept her apprised of things going on in the castle. Curious as to why he would be calling she answered the phone. The informant told her that Bowser had summoned Alexander to appear before him in open court making her heart skip a beat. The only time her father summoned someone in front of the court was either to face charges, or to reward them. In this case Wendy had a feeling it wasn't to tell Alexander that he was doing a good job. Things like that came after wars, not during.

Racing out of the bathroom Wendy ran through the castle nearly knocking two people over in the process and came to the throne room just in in time to see Alexander get backhanded. This was the moment she had been dreading, Bowser had found out about them. This was something Wendy knew would eventually happen but with the war going on she thought it would take longer.

"Still feeling brave boy?" Bowser said.

"My answer hasn't changed, you want me to stop seeing Wendy you'll have to kill me," Alexander said. When Bowser held both arms out those gathered in the courtroom backed up almost to the walls and standing there the king leaned forward letting out a bellicose roar and came charging forward. At this Wendy let out a gasp seeing her father attack. Wendy knew full well what he was capable of in battle and to hear Alexander stand up in front of the entire court and defy Bowser for her. No one else had ever done that, no one else ever stood up to her father before and now he was about to get killed.

When Bowser swung Alexander ducked and rolled to the side making it a point to keep just out of the his range. No counter attacks came but it was easy to see that he was trying to think of something that would be effective in terms of trying to fight back. Wendy knew that Alexander's options were limited because in a physical confrontation it would be no contest. The same could be said for magic as well as Bowser was considered the most powerful practitioner of Koopa magic in modern times. In battle both physical and magical her father was a monster which is what made him so dangerous. Unable to just sit there and watch the man she was falling in love be torn to piece Wendy ran after her father and got between the two of them throwing her arms out.

"STOP IT!" Wendy said. "Why are you doing this? Ever time I find someone that I show the slightest bit of interest in you do this. You let my brothers have all the girlfriends they want but I can't have one single person. Do you want me to grow old alone, is that it?!"

"Get out of my way child," Bowser said.

"Please father, if you have any compassion for me at all, don't do this," Wendy said. Looking back Bowser snapped his fingers and Wendy was pulled out of the way by two of the guards. Fear, grief, and anger all flowed freely while watching her father continue the fight. This was without a doubt the single most vicious thing he'd ever done and if Alexander died she would never forgive him. Helpless to do anything Wendy had to sit there and watch the two of them continue to fight. At first Alexander kept avoiding Bowser and she wondered if he was going to mount any sort of counter attack, then something clicked.

Every time her father attacked he would move out of the way and watch the attack. It was then Wendy realized he was analyzing things like attack speed and patterns. When Bowser came in with one especially deep claw swipe Alexander jumped up over it and come down with a heavy punch to the face. It barely phased Bowser and he danced away waving a hand but it was the first sign of what Wendy hoped would be a successful offensive. If Mario could beat her father perhaps Alexander could too. She paused for a moment thinking about the plumber and growled slightly, then continued to watch the fight. There was something else that didn't make sense to Wendy, her father was acting more like a brawler than someone trained in Kep-rin. Three more blows from Alexander landed as the fight continued and she knew Bowser well enough to know he wasn't this sloppy in a fight.

"If that's the best you've got this is going to be a short-" Bowser's sentence was interrupted as Alexander spun around connecting a fast roundhouse kick to the side of the head that staggered the Koopa sovereign to the side and forced him to blink a few times. Even Wendy was surprised by this as there weren't many people able to hit Bowser that hard.

"What's going on?!" Mortimer said. Seeing Alexander's father next to her in the courtroom almost made Wendy do a double take. In consideration of the fact his son was fighter her father it made sense and Wendy quickly explained the situation to him.

"This... isn't good," Mortimer said. When Alexander went for another roundhouse kick Bowser grabbed him by the shoulder in mid-spin and hurled him against the side of the throne room door opposite where Wendy and Mortimer were standing. It was obvious to Wendy the impact caused him a lot of pain, but the man refused to stay down and after taking a moment to recover he charged right back in. After two more swings from Bowser that were avoided Alexander slammed an elbow into the side of his head only to be backhanded clear out of the throne room this time. He tumbled across the floor coming to a stop face down.

"Give up this pointless fight child, you have no hope of winning," Bowser said. From the look of things Wendy was beginning to think that as well. Even with Bowser being struck in the head several times already he face wasn't even starting the swell. Alexander however wasn't faring so well, this time he had trouble getting up and nearly fell down after taking a single step.

"It... it doesn't matter what my chances might or might not be. When something in your life matters as much as Wendy does to me you never give up, you never give in. You keep fighting no matter what," Alexander said. When he pulled a brass wand out of one pocket and held it there Bowser threw his head back and laughed. Even Wendy couldn't fathom what he was thinking, her father could easily counter any crude attempt at using magic he might make.

"Alexander, don't," Wendy said. To that Alexander just looked at her with a smile and winked. The tip of the wand started to glow as energy was channeled into it and Wendy could easy see this fight ending soon as she knew what Bowser would do. It was surprising to see arcs of energy start to flow down Alexander's arm and she realized just how much energy he was dumping into the attack. When he held the wand out and fired a massive bolt of energy ripped through the air. The only response from Bowser was to hold out his hand and collect the energy in his palm.

"Here, let me show how it's done," Bowser said. Drawing back the koopa sovereign increased the blue-white sphere of energy from the size of a basket ball to a beach ball and threw his arm forward. At that same moment Alexander hurled the wand straight at the energy sphere causing Wendy's eyes to widen. If the wand struck that much energy... the resulting explosion rocked the courtroom and hurled Bowser back against the steps of the dais. When the smoke cleared he was laying there scales scored by the blast with small curls of smoke rising up. Even Wendy couldn't believe what she was seeing. Then just when it seemed the fight was over a small jet of fire rose up from his mouth.

"That hurt..." Bowser said. With a small groan he pushed up with one arm and stood looking himself over carefully. The crowd let out a small gasp seeing that the left arm of their sovereign was visibly broken and Wendy winced slightly as a ripple of red energy went through Bowser's limb causing the bone to reset with an audible crackling sound. As Alexander walked back into the courtroom it was easy to see he was struggling. Of the two Bowser was faring much better, the magical attack had drained just about everything Alexander had left. The punch he threw at Bowser was so weak it struck his chest to no effect.

"Admit it, you've lost," Bowser said.

"I'm still standing," Alexander said. To that Bowser responded by punching him in the chest hard enough to break several ribs and send him sliding across the floor. This time when Alexander tried to get up his strength failed and his arm gave out. When he tried to get up a second time Bowser stepped on his chest resulting in a pained yell.

"This is your last chance, give up or die," Bowser said.

"If those are my choices then you might as well kill me," Alexander said.

"Does Wendy truly mean that much to you, would you really die for her?" Bowser said.

"Of all the women I have ever known, she's the only one I've ever truly cared for. Yes, I would die for her," Alexander said.

"So be it," Bowser said, raising his foot. As tears began to stream down her eyes Wendy looked away unable to watch what was about to happen. When Bowser's slammed down hard enough to shake the throne room she began to cry.

"Well I'll be damned," Mortimer said. Not sure what those words meant Wendy looked to see her father standing over a badly injured Alexander who was still alive. His foot had slammed into the floor and not the man's chest. At this point Wendy was at a complete loss, her father nearly killed him and was prepared to do so, why had he stopped now? None of this made any sense and Wendy's head was spinning.

"Of all those who have come before you, all those who would court my daughter, you are the only one who has been willing to give his life for her. You are the only one who has been willing to stand up against anything to be with her, even me. Because of this you are the only one worthy of her," Bowser said.

"Oh my freakin' God, this was a test?!" Alexander said. "What happened to pick one from column A and two from column B?"

"By the way," Bowser said, walking back to his throne. "You ever talk to me like that again and I will kill you."

"Roger that boss man," Alexander said. This turn of events absolutely stunned Wendy, all this time her father had been testing her would-be boyfriends. All this time when she thought it was nothing more than an attempt to make her life miserable, Bowser was looking for someone worthy to be with her. Still in a state of shock she ran across the room almost sliding across the floor to lean down an hug Alexander.

"Ribs, ribs! Broken ribs!" Alexander said.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry," Wendy said. Releasing her grip the princess look down at Alexander placing a hand against his cheek. Her father was right, the man laying there on the floor was the only one who had ever truly fought for her, the only one willing to die to protect her, to be with her. Right now looking down Wendy didn't see an enemy, or even a human, the only thing she saw was a the man she loved. As the nobles in the courtroom started to leave Wendy noticed several of them look down at Alexander and give him a slight nod. From them that was a considerable show of approval that few people got, yet there weren't many willing to face her father in single combat either.

"Can I get a doctor please?" Alexander said. "I think someone needs to put Humpty Dumpty back together again." At this point he was becoming delirious and while Wendy had no idea who Humpty Dumpty was she quickly used her cell phone to call the castle medics. Similar to when he fought Roy, Alexander was quickly transported to the castle's medical wing and he was once again treated by Dr. Rigel Fuller. While Wendy waited outside to hear about Alexander's condition Mortimer waited along with her.

"So tell me Wendy, how do you feel about Alexander?" Mortimer said.

"Huh, what?" Wendy said, looking over at the older man.

"Alexander, do you really love him?" Mortimer said.

"Yeah, I do," Wendy said. Once again she looked down at the floor slightly embarrassed. Never one to openly speak about her emotions it was hard enough just to say that. It was even harder for Wendy to admit that she was in love with someone because this was a first. That in itself scared her tremendously. To truly love someone, the way a woman loves a man, was something Wendy had never felt before. As much as it scared her the feeling was also exhilarating to know that someone loved her in return. For the first time in as long as Wendy could remember she felt a glimmer of happiness.

"So does this mean I'm going to be a grandfather any time soon?" Mortimer said.

"Do what?!" Wendy said, looking over at him.

"It was just a thought," Mortimer said. The idea made Wendy stop and think for a moment and she became slightly depressed by that very idea. Even without being an expert in science she knew it was impossible for a koopa and a human to have children together.

"You don't have to be a geneticist to know that's not possible. Humans are primates and Koopa are reptiles, it'll never happen," Wendy said. That was something else she would eventually have to talk with Alexander about if they lasted as a couple. Being unable to have children they would have to adopt and eventually decide if the child would be human or koopa, perhaps they'd adopt one of each. To the sound of a loud sigh Wendy leaned her head back.

"Something wrong?" Mortimer said.

"Yeah, Alexander. I've never been in a serious relationship before, I have no idea what I'm doing. You've been married right?" Wendy said.

"Almost thirty years," Mortimer said.

"Divorced?" Wendy said.

"Widowed," Mortimer said.

"Sorry to hear that, so any advice on the subject?" Wendy said.

"It's hard to say, every relationship is different. The one thing I can tell you is that the key to any relationship is communication. If you keep your feelings bottled up inside it will eventually drive the two of you apart," Mortimer said. That was something else Wendy was dreading, she was never the type to talk about her feeling. Being part of the royal family she was always expected to set her feelings aside and always appear prim and proper. The only people she ever talked to were her mother before she died, after that there was no one to really talk to. Every now and then one of her brothers would have a heart to heart with her but that wasn't something she could rely on. Even Iggy for all his intelligence was clueless sometimes.

"Do you think Alexander's the type to talk about his feelings?" Wendy said.

"Although I haven't known him very long Alexander seems like the type who talks a little too much sometimes," Mortimer said.

"That man doesn't know when to shut up," Wendy said. To that the both of them had a laugh. Their attention focused on the door when the doctor walked out into the hall.

"How is he, is he going to be okay?" Wendy said.

"He took a pretty nasty beating but he'll be fine. You can talk to him if you want but don't take too long. The amount of healing magic we had to use has drained him severely, he'll need his rest," Rigel said. It didn't take long for Wendy and Mortimer to walk into the room and see Alexander laying there in bed. He was in a hospital gown and covered with a sheet, but aside from a machine to monitor his vital signs and an intravenous nutrient drip he seemed to be fine.

"How are feeling?" Wendy said, standing beside the bed.

"Like someone just beat the crap out of me," Alexander said.

"Oh you stupid little primate," Wendy said, leaning down to kiss him gently. She started to say something a few times then stopped and looked up at Mortimer. The man got the message and stepped back to the door to give them a moment of privacy.

"Why'd you do it, why did you risk your life for me," Wendy said.

"It's like I told your father, you're the only woman I've ever truly cared about," Alexander said. The only response Wendy gave to that was to kiss the man again and rub his cheek with a hand. After that Wendy walked out of the room to give Mortimer a chance to talk with him. In order to try and take her mind off the matter at hand Wendy decided to go have a talk with her brother Iggy. Of all her brothers Iggy was the one Wendy got along with the most and the Ludwig the least. That pompous little heir to throne just rubbed her the wrong way. All the royal family had each other on speed dial so she decided to give him a call. The phone rang several times before he answered, his cell phone no doubt being left somewhere it took a moment to find.

"Hey sis, I just heard Alexander fought dad, that true?" Iggy said.

"Yes, can we talk about something else please?" Wendy said.

"Sorry, you okay?" Iggy said.

"I'm fine, you busy?" Wendy said.

"I'm in my lab working on stuff for Ludwig, but you can drop by if you want," Iggy said.

"Be there in a few," Wendy said. She hung up the phone and smiled a little, counting Iggy and her father there were now at least three men who cared about her. It didn't take long for her to reach Iggy's lab and like always there were things scattered everywhere. Most of the room consisted of tables piled with either mechanical or electronic components in various stages of assembly or disassembly, it was hard to tell. The only then that was slightly organized was a desk near the back with a computer and several CDs scattered around. At the moment Iggy was typing away at the computer and seemed hard as work.

"Whatcha working on?" Wendy said, looking at the computer screen over his shoulder.

"Ludwig's been making some progress on figuring out the dynamics behind the space folding technology used by the Stinit. It's actually closer to the Getzler Spacial Bridge theory created by Simon Getlzer some centuries before the Technologies Accord was adopted," Iggy said.

"Do what?" Wendy said.

"Getzler wormholes are also known as Getzler Spacial Bridges which are connections between areas of space that can be designed as a vacuum solution to Getzler field equations, and which we now understood to be intrinsic parts of the maximally extended version of the Getzler metric describing an eternal black hole with no charge and no rotation," Iggy said.

"I barely passed high school science you dork," Wendy said.

"Oh right, Ludwig's starting to figure out how the Stinit travel so fast and wants me to work on designing a machine to duplicate the process," Iggy said.

"So does this mean we'll be launching an attack against them soon?" Wendy said.

"If Ludwig can figure out the rest of this out, yes," Iggy said.

"If you can make a machine to travel the same way the Stinit do then what else is there?" Wendy said.

"In simple terms traveling through a wormhole unprotected would kill someone. Ludwig's still trying to figure out how the Stinit have overcome that problem," Iggy said. Her brother continued to type away at the computer for some time as Wendy watched having no clue about anything he was working on. It took some time but he eventually stopped typing and looked over.

"Okay I know you're not that big into science so what I'm working on can't be this interesting. What's going on?" Iggy said. With a slight smile Wendy pulled up a chair and sat down.

"It's Alexander," Wendy said.

"Did you two get into a fight again, if he hurt you..." Iggy said.

"No, it's not that... I'm... I'm in love with him," Wendy said. To that statement Iggy just tilted his head to he side and looked as if a second head had suddenly grown out of her neck. Wendy proceeded to explain that was the reason Bowser fought with Alexander. Then she went into detail about how it had all been a test to see if he was worthy to be with her along with everything that was said between them during the confrontation.

"So you love him and he loves you, that's wonderful," Iggy said.

"No it's not you moron," Wendy said.

"Okay, now you lost me," Iggy said.

"Don't you get it, I don't know how to be in love with someone. I don't know what I'm suppose to say, what I'm suppose to do or even how to feel!" Wendy said, then looked away. "I'm scared."

"Love can be one of the most terrifying things you'll ever experience, and one of the greatest. For those things that matter the most in life there's always risk involved, never more so than allowing yourself to love someone. Yet if you don't, deep down inside you'll always be alone," Iggy said.

"When did you become such an expert on life?" Wendy said. The only response to that came in the form of Iggy looking away. At the realization of having struck a nerve Wendy leaned forward hugging him and apologized. She'd almost forgotten how a young woman he'd fallen in love with broke his heart. It was something Iggy still hadn't fully gotten over.

"So what do I do?" Wendy said.

"Well, be considerate of him and how he feels, but don't be a doormat. It's a give and take situation, you give some, you take some. One of the biggest things in a relationship is compromise, you can't have everything your way but you shouldn't let him have everything his way either," Iggy said.

"Um okay, give and take, don't be a doormat, what else?" Wendy said.

"Have the two of you had sex yet?" Iggy said.

"What the hell kinda question is that?!" Wendy said.

"Just answer the question please," Iggy said. That put Wendy somewhat on the spot as talking about sex most definitely wasn't something she normally did. It was also rather embarrassing for the subject to even be brought up. Enough so that Wendy's face flushed at the thought.

"Twice," Wendy said, almost mumbling the word as she looked away.

"Then learn what he likes and teach him what you like. Sex is part of any healthy relationship and also something that will draw the two of you together and keep you close," Iggy said.

"You sure seem to know a lot about this sorta stuff," Wendy said.

With a slight chuckle Iggy scratched the back of his head, "I read all of this in book."

About to say something else Wendy stopped when Iggy snapped his fingers as if remembering something and got up. Not sure what he was up to she watched him dig through a large pile of stuff in one corner of the room and stand up dusting something off. Returning to his seat Iggy handed her a book. Not sure what was going on Wendy read the cover, A Beginners Guide to Relationships. For her something like this was more valuable than gold. Having no idea how to handle a relationship advice from an expert would go a long way... if the person was an expert.

"Do you know if the author of this book really knows what they're talking about?" Wendy said.

"Read the dedication on the inside cover," Iggy said.

Wendy opened the cover of the book seeing that the author had dedicated the book to her husband of 45 years. That brought a smile to Wendy's face thinking about a couple that had loved one another enough to stay married for that long. Now determined to read every last page in the book she stood up kissing Iggy on the forehead and took off for her own room with a new mission in mind.


	15. Chapter XV

For just over four days Alexander remained in bed resting from the beating he'd received from Bowser, but in his mind every bump, bruise, and broken bone was worth it. There was also a lot more to the fight than he'd first realized. Up to that point Alexander's emotions were conflicted and he was unsure about being in love or not. While they hadn't been together very long he'd managed to fall for Wendy quickly. To a degree there was some attraction from the whole inter-species aspect of the relationship, but that was only one small portion of the reason. Deep down Alexander realized they were a lot more alike than either would readily admit. They were both lost souls looking for someone to love them for who they were.

In that brief moment when Wendy blurted out 'I love you' that was the first time a woman had ever said that to him and really meant it. That very statement touched Alexander and when he looked into her eyes, there were no words to describe the feeling. For a long time he had hated Wendy for her treatment, mockery, and abuse. Then to hear her say that, for someone to admit something so deeply personal, Alexander didn't have the heart to turn her away. It was those very same words that made him start to fall in love with her. Then to have Bowser tell him it was over, Alexander feared losing someone that he cared about. He did fear losing Trevor as a friend, but that was different, they were just really two really close guy pals. Both were woman crazy so to speak and had no interest in one another in that respect.

The fight also brought to mind that he didn't have a very good track record in fighting the members of the House of Koopa. Roy nearly killed him, he fought Wendy to a standstill, then Bowser stomped a mud hole in him. The amount of violence that was acceptable in Koopa culture was so different from Earth it was hard for Alexander to deal with at times. A lot of people solved their problems with their fists and he'd even heard about a law allowing two people to fight it out in non-lethal combat if both parties agreed. The laws here were vastly different as was living under the rule of a monarchy. The Koopa people were so different it was hard to handle at times. That was still something Alexander would have to get used to.

Living under a monarchy wasn't something that bothered him. From everything Alexander had seen Bowser was a very competent ruler who took his job as king with all due seriousness. He had waded into the battlefield at the castle twice and directly commanded the troops defending Turtopolis and Sledge through real time communication. Most of all he treated the people fairly and lived by the very laws he set down. Those things put together made Alexander respect Bowser tremendously. He was a king in every way that mattered and deserved that respect in the young man's mind. The one thing Alexander didn't understand was why Bowser had overthrown his father. It was something he'd heard mentioned briefly by some of the soldiers talking about old war stories during the reign of Morton Koopa Sr.

"Nurse," Alexander said, getting the attention of a nearby hammer sister. The woman walked over and smiled at him pleasantly. In a nurse's uniform similar to those on Earth there was also a name tag over her right breast that read Candice.

"Something I can help you with sir?" Candice said.

"How long have I been out?" Alexander said.

"Four days," Candice said.

"Wonderful, any more attacks?" Alexander said.

"No, everything's been rather quiet," Candice said.

"Alright, now how much you know about history," Alexander said.

"I know some, what are you interested in?" Candice said.

"Bowser's father, was he a popular king?" Alexander said.

"Well... from what my mother told me, not really. I don't know personally because I was only three when he was overthrown," Candice said.

"Why did Bowser overthrow him?" Alexander said.

"Now that I don't know, it's not something that's talked about very much. All I know it that things between the two of them really went sour after his majesty's mother, Queen Rosa, died. From what mother said it was only two years later that Bowser dethroned him," Candice said. That really gave Alexander something to think about because when a king or queen died the reason behind it was usually known. For Bowser to overthrow his father like Candice said there must have been some bad blood between them. It wasn't something that Alexander was going to ask him about though, Bowser didn't come across as the type who talked about his feelings very much. As a random thought ran though his mind the idea of dating a princess resulted in a large smile.

Alexander had dated his fair share of women but a princess was a first. The reason for the smile was because he knew how much Wendy hated Peach. That was old news around the castle and while he didn't know if the feelings were mutual, it was something Alexander would make it a point to throw in her face the next time the two of them were at a diplomatic function. Causing a scene was out of the question, but when Alexander put his mind to it he could hurl subtle insults with the best of them. As his mind began to settle he also realized that dating a princess was no joke, this would require learning a lot about royal etiquette and protocol to avoid actually causing a scene in public. The last thing Alexander wanted to do was something that would harm the House of Koopa's image.

"Boy, you is eitha da bravest or stupidest human I eva met," Roy said, leaning against the door the hospital room.

"Hmm," Alexander said, looking up. "Prince Roy, how's it going?"

"Ah knock it off ya ape, ya don't gotta be so formal when it's just us," Roy said. As the prince walked over to the bed he looked down at Alexander as if still trying to figure out if he was brave or just plain stupid.

"I ain't neva seen anyone willing ta go toe to toe wit Pops like dat fo Wendy, you a real piece a work," Roy said.

"More like it took a lot of work to put me back together, ouch," Alexander said.

"Well, you betta treat 'er right, cause if ya doesn't..." Roy said.

"I have a feeling if it comes to that you'll have to take a number and get in line," Alexander said.

"While you're here maybe you can answer a question for me."

"Like wut?" Roy said.

"Why did Bowser overthrow his father?" Alexander said.

"I uh... I dun't really know," Roy said.

"Wait a minute, he's your grandfather and you don't know what happened between the two of them?" Alexander said. The subject seemed to be a little touchy for Roy and he would only talk about it after Alexander was sworn to complete secrecy. Once that was agreed to Roy explained that no one exactly knows what happened because Bowser and Morton were the only ones present when his grandmother died. There were a select few individuals within Bowser inner-circle that knew what happened, but he didn't know who they were and they weren't talking. It was also a subject that everyone knew better than to bring up in the king's presence. The only thing that Roy could put together on the subject is that Bowser probably blamed his father for Rosa's death. While the events occurred before Roy was born, it was known that Bowser became openly hostile to his father afterward.

Another question also confirmed that Morton wasn't a popular king, he was actually one of the more unpopular rulers in recent history. He was known to overtax the people to the point of near poverty and reinvested almost nothing into the economy. It became so bad at one point Bowser had to sell of most of his property and take out a sizable loan from a bank, then turn around and give it all to the people. Through his own actions Prince Bowser managed to avert no less than two popular revolts against his father. In thinking the subject over Roy mentioned rumors of a third revolt may have been a contributing factor to his grandfather's downfall. The coup didn't take long as Bowser had the support of nearly the entire army and the people.

"So he killed Morton?" Alexander said.

"Nah, Pops dun't believe in spillin' royal blood unless he has ta. Grandpappy was exiled to da Ilse o' Koopa," Roy said. "It's where all da exiled royals and nobles get sent."

"Really, you ever visit him?" Alexander said.

"I tried once, but all dat ol' fart wanted ta know was 'bout stuff happenin' out here. Dinnit care 'bout me or nuttin," Roy said. "I still go dere ta see Aunt Ges... Gers... pop's sista every now and den."

"Wait a minute, Bowser has a sister?" Alexander said.

"Yeah, Princess Ges-sin-a," Roy said, having to pronounce the name slowly. "She sided wit grandpappy durin' da coup so Pops shipped her butt off too." The prince let Alexander rest after that and left him with a lot to think about. Until know he didn't even know that Bowser had sister as no one ever mentioned her before. Although according to the time line laid out Gessina would have been banished before Bowser's children were born, or at least Roy at any rate. That also brought to the fore the thought that Alexander was getting himself embroiled in royal politics. So far it was just service, but now that he was together with Wendy it was going to be a whole new social ballgame. The idea of dealing with nobles wasn't something Alexander relished, if they were anything like those on Earth a lot of them would be self-absorbed jerks with an inflated ego and feeling of self-entitlement.

Still lost in thought Candice walked up to Alexander bringing him a clipboard. It turned out to be his discharge papers as Rigel was releasing him for care. This was a welcome relief because laying around in bed all day wasn't his idea of fun. It took six signatures on five sheets of paper for Alexander to officially be a free man again. The first thing he did was get up and head for the black leather outfit folded up on a table nearby. As he did Candice let out a low whistle.

"Now I can see at least one reason the princess is so fond of you," Candice said. It took a split second for Alexander to realize what she was talking about before he reached around closing the back of the hospital gown. With a small giggle Candice left and he didn't turn around in part due to a face that was now a bright shade of red. Once the coast was clear he dressed and walked out of the castle's hospital wing. The four day gap likely meant that Ludwig and the others would have a plan formulated on how to deal with the Stinit invasion and Alexander hoped they did. Despite the hell he'd gone through since coming here, this was starting to become more of a home to him than Earth ever was. Here Alexander had friends, a family, and a woman who loved him. Not only that but if things kept going the way they were he might just have an exciting career... if they all lived that long.

The Stinit attacks still had Alexander worried because he had already seen just how destructive they could be and the invasions were only getting worse. There wasn't any fear that the Koopa weren't up to the task of defeating the invader, as these people already proved more than once just how vicious they could be. It was a matter of being able to strike back and take the offensive. If Ludwig and Iggy didn't get a plan together soon there wouldn't be anyone left to mount an attack. For that reason his first stop was to ask one of the guards to help him locate either Ludwig or Iggy. After the soldier gave him the requested information Alexander made a mental note to get a cell phone as soon as possible. In a place this size a person needed one.

Prince Ludwig was in his room as he had been since the capture of the Stinit commander and that was where Alexander went. Upon entering the scene was quite different from his last visit. The commander looked to just barely be alive and Ludwig who was still at his computer had several days worth of bags under his eyes.

"So how are things coming?" Alexander said, walking up next to him.

"What?" Ludwig said. "Oh I didn't see you standing there."

"You look like five miles of bad country road," Alexander said.

"Yeah well four days without any sleep will do that to a person," Ludwig said. The other thing Alexander noticed is that Ludwig wasn't speaking with his normal vernacular of long words and eloquent speech.

"Battle plans?" Alexander said.

"Hrm, right... I haven't been able to overcome the genetic factor involved in the Stinit's ability to travel through wormholes. Your father helped me locate the coding that provided them with this ability, but everything simulation I've run trying to graft it to our DNA results in total cellular breakdown," Ludwig said.

"So it would kill us?" Alexander said.

"Try puddle on the floor," Ludwig said.

"Wonderful, if we can't strike back we're as good as dead," Alexander said.

"Oh we'll strike back. I'm just helping Iggy put the final touches on the calculations to create a stable wormhole," Ludwig said.

"How, you just said we can't go through," Alexander said.

"Ask father, I'm too tired to go into detail," Ludwig said. That made Alexander curious as to exactly how they would be able to attack the enemy if they couldn't get through the wormhole. The truth of the matter was he was eager to end this war because too many people had been hurt or killed already. Once again he had ho idea where Bowser was but having to ask for directions was averted by coming across Wendy in one of the halls.

"Wendy," Alexander said, falling in step next to her. "Where's your father?"

"Out at the airfield, he just sent me a text to meet him there," Wendy said. While the princess was tapping away at the phone working on a text of her own the thought of seeing the airfield was exciting. This was one place Alexander had never been before and the airships were an incredible sight to see. Being able to get another look at one of them would be a welcome diversion. However it did make Alexander curious as to why Bowser would be out there. After a short trip to the motor pool the two were riding in a chauffeur driven limo to the airfield that turned out to be located in the mountain range behind the castle. The dark and rather foreboding peaks of the range known only as the Northern Mountains rose up around them but for the first time Alexander wasn't intimidated.

The view didn't last long as he was looking up out of the window Wendy reached over yanking Alexander back and planted a deep kiss on him. While somewhat surprised by this it was a welcome sensation and he kissed back. They remained that way for a time and Alexander could feel the passion rising up within him. Sitting up straight he began to kiss Wendy on the neck. In response she moaned slightly, then pushed Alexander back against the door.

"Don't start something we don't have time to finish," Wendy said.

"Consider it a preview for later," Alexander said. "How far away are we anyway?"

"About fifteen minutes or so," Wendy said.

"How about a quickie?" Alexander said. Still looking down and texting Wendy stopped for a moment thinking about the idea, then put the phone away and nearly power tackled Alexander.

Fifteen Minutes Later...

The limo pulled up through the gate of the heavily guarded airfield and came to a stop allowing Alexander to step out and adjust his clothing, while Wendy exited on the other side tugging at her shell slightly. The field itself appeared to be little more that a large open area surrounded by a high two layer deep fence topped by razor wire, all of it electrified. It was obvious to Alexander that Bowser didn't want people just wandering in. The ground here was paved and near the back there were several large buildings that looked like hangers for the airships. The metal buildings had large bay doors that were more than large enough for one to fit into. There were only three ships here, all of them damaged.

"That's odd," Wendy said.

"What?" Alexander said.

"There are no technicians or mechanics here, this place is normally packed with workers," Wendy said. A quick glance around the airfield revealed a number of other vehicles parked off to one side including Bowser's personal green and red limo which was hard to miss.

"Who's vehicle is that, I don't recognize the colors," Alexander said. The vehicle in question was a motorcycle with yellow and purple elements and he noticed Wendy shiver slightly upon seeing it.

"Wario," Wendy said.

"Who's that?" Alexander said.

"Some jerk off I had to go out on a date with to get him to agree to help father," Wendy said.

"Hold on a minute, you went on a date with someone?" Alexander said.

"All business, believe me, all business," Wendy said, shivering a second time. The reaction she gave to seeing the motorcycle the first time already told Alexander she wasn't fond of the individual in question, but he couldn't help giving her a hard time. One mystery was quickly solved when a loud whistle cut through the air and they both looked over to see Morton Jr standing by the door of an open hanger bay.

"Get the lead out you two we ain't got all day," Morton said.

"If Bowser hates his father so much why did he name a child after him," Alexander said.

"He didn't, mother did," Wendy said. The two walked to the hanger bay which was filled with equipment designed for working on airships. Everything from large cranes designed hoist engines all the way down to stand up tool boxes. To the left there was a small group gathered that seemed to be doing little more than standing around, save for Ludwig who was stomach down on one of the work tables snoring. There was Bowser, Wario, Iggy, Larry, and Morton Jr. who were all looking at them. Wario smiled and waved at Wendy who growled in response. The first thing to go through Alexander's mind upon seeing Wario was some twisted version of Mario. The two walked up to the group and Alexander looked up at the other man who was about half a head taller and twice as wide.

"You wouldn't happen to know Mario by any chance would you?" Alexander said. To that Wario let out an audible growl and glared, eyes widening. That gave him a good idea that the larger man had no love for the plumber either. To avoid starting a fight Alexander just held his hands up and stepped back. About to ask a question he was smacked in the shoulder and looked over to see Bowser holding out a cell phone that had it's own number written on a piece of tape on the back.

"Thanks boss man, was needing to get one of these," Alexander said. Before being able to do anything Wendy snatched the phone away and started pressing buttons, upon receiving it back he could see her number was entered into the phone book. There was still one question bothering Alexander and that was how they were going to get to this space station. There didn't appear to be any sort of device that would be able to transport them anywhere, aside from tools and a bit of machinery there wasn't anything at all.

"Right, so uh, how we getting to this space station thing?" Alexander said. Again Alexander was almost power tackled by Wendy who gave him a deep kiss.

"Good luck, come back safe," Wendy said. Still completely clueless as to what was going on Alexander was about to say something when Iggy took out some sort of device and pressed several buttons. Without the chance to say anything there was a bright flash of light and in place of the hanger bay there was what appeared to be a command deck of some sort, still not sure what was going on Alexander turned around to see that only Larry, Iggy and Wario were there, but that wasn't what rendered him speechless.

Image: i991 photobucket com / albums / af37 / Antaus / Koopa%20Stories / bridge_zps751ad1b9 jpg

"Well it's about time, can we get this mission underway now?" Larry said, walking to take a seat in the captain's chair.

"What... where... how... is that..." Alexander said.

"Welcome to the Koopa Kingdom Starship Bowser One," Iggy said.

"Aw yeah, this is sweet," Wario said.

"Now just hold on a minute," Alexander said. "You're telling me that the House of Koopa has its own starship?"

"Uh, duh?" Larry said.

"Isn't that a violation of the Technologies Accord?" Alexander said.

"Roughly every word of it," Iggy said.

"Alright, that aside how did we get up here, did I just get..." Alexander said.

"Compressed into a steam of digital information and reassmbled on the deck of the ship, yep," Iggy said.

"I feel so violated," Alexander said. The fact that the House of Koopa had a starship was something that blew his mind. There were three other seats next to Larry's that appeared to have been recently installed and with two of them already taken Alexander sat in the last one next to Iggy. From what he could see the ship itself was well beyond the level of anything that Earth even came close to. The ship itself was manned by a wide variety of species including several humans.

To even see something like this was mind boggling and it took time for Alexander to get over the shock. When he thought about it at length the fact that Mushroom World was once as advanced as Earth several thousand years in the past, it only made sense that some might secretly continue research that was in violation of the Technologies Accord. That in mind there were two things still bugging Alexander so he leaned over to speak with Iggy since Wario was sitting on the other side of Larry.

"Two questions. First, why is Larry in command of the ship. Second, if this ship violates just about every word of the Accord what's elf boy doing here?" Alexander said, speaking in a low tone.

"As to the first question Larry has trained extensively in commanding this ship and aside from father he is the most capable in this regard. In regards to Wario being here the deal to contract his services was already brokered before we realized travel through the wormhole would be impossible on foot. To that end father increased his pay to ten-thousand gold coins and included a contract of non-disclosure to be signed," Iggy said.

"Are you sure that'll ensure his silence?" Alexander said.

"Yes, because he knows if he blabs about this and gets the House of Koopa in trouble we'll make it point to level his castle with him inside it," Iggy said. Those questions out of the way Alexander went back to watching the main view screen as Larry talked with the various officers on the ship making sure all systems were functional. Travel through outer space like this is something he never dreamed possible. Though the idea of continuing to travel in outer space after this mission was over briefly entered his mind, Alexander knew that repeated use of the starship was just too dangerous. The ramifications laid out in the Accords were all too clear

"Right, let's get this show on the road," Larry said. "Helm, you have the co-ordinates. Set course and engage the hyperdrive at factor eight." Still eager to see how all this would play out Alexander watched as the ship turned toward deep space. The helm officer continued to work the controls for a minute, then the stars appeared to stretch out around them and soon they were traveling at speeds he could only imagine were faster than light.

"Hyperdrive factor eight, that's... eight times faster than the speed of light?" Alexander said.

"You got it," Iggy said.

"Okay so uh, how is that even possible? The closer an object comes to the speed of light the slower time moves. In theory if we're traveling father than the speed of light we should be traveling backwards in time," Alexander said.

"Since when did you become an expert in hyperdrive mechanics?" Iggy said, the last question obviously surprising him.

"I read a lot," Alexander said. At this Iggy sat back looking at him with a still quizzical expression on his face. While Alexander wasn't sure what the look was all about he could also tell the prince was thinking so he refrained from saying anything else.

"It's a rather complicated process but the easiest way to explain it is that the hyperdrive creates a distortion field that partially phases the ship out of the normal space/time continuum. This allows it to exceed the speed of light without being affected by the normal laws of physics," Iggy said.

"Cool," Alexander said.

"You understood that?" Iggy said.

"Why wouldn't I?" Alexander said.

"Why wouldn't you indeed..." Iggy said. Again Alexander wasn't sure why Iggy was acting so strangely but he dismissed the matter and went back to watching the main view screen. Being able to travel faster than the speed of light was something he thought theoretically impossible, though in recent times his definition of the world impossible was being severely challenged. A world filled with sentient beings from dozens of races, magic, travel through pipes between two worlds and now a starship. Even with the grim task at hand Alexander was loving every minute of it. This was an adventure unlike anything he could have ever imagined possible. When the ship dropped back into normal space Alexander didn't see a space station.

"Are we there already?" Alexander said.

"No, using the hyperdrive it would take us over a century to reach the space station. We just had to be far enough away from Mushroom World so the wormhole wouldn't affect the planet," Iggy said.

"We're a safe distance away, activate the interspacial manifold" Larry said.

"Activating the interspacial manifold," the helm officer said.

"We couldn't travel through on foot so father had Ludwig and I design a something that could be installed on the ship," Iggy said.

"You did all that in five days?" Alexander said.

"We sort of jury rigged some old technology... you might wand to hold on, this could get a little bumpy," Iggy said. This was something Alexander wouldn't have missed for just about anything and his eyes were glued to the view screen. At first a bright blue beam was fired from the ship that appeared to travel for a distance before disappearing completely. Then space in front of the ship began warping as a field appeared first turning red and then blue. As the process continued the distortion appeared to collapse in on itself before exploding outward in a brilliant flash creating a tunnel through space.

Image: i991 photobucket c0m / albums / af37 / Antaus / Koopa%20Stories / wormhole_zps7e9387f6 jpg

So excited by everything that was happening it took a moment for something to click in Alexander's head, "Wait a minute, what do you mean sort of."

"Weeeeeell... you know... five day rush job, slap it on a ship... hope it works..." Iggy said.

"Hope it works, you son of aaaaaaaaaaaaaa-" Alexander's words seemed to stretch out and fade away as the ship entered the wormhole and the front of it appeared to stretch forward into the horizon. After entering the wormhole the ship no longer appear to be stretched out but the sudden shift in perspective was disorienting. Not long after that everyone on the ship started floating out of their seats and Alexander managed to grab onto the armrest of his chair.

"Iggy, what's going on?" Larry said. As the prince spoke his words came out as slow and distorted and looking around Alexander could see that everyone's movement was leaving small afterimages.

"It would appear the wormhole is having an affect on the ship's artificial gravity systems," Iggy said, avoiding the larger question.

"Ya think?!" Alexander said.

"Captain, hull stress is reaching critical levels, microfractures are forming on decks six, seven, eight, and nine. If we don't slow down soon the ship will be torn apart," the helm officer said. Hearing this Alexander was curious how the helm officer could still be at his station and looked back to see the turtle wearing a seat belt that came down over both shoulders. Without warning the ship returned to normal space and those of the crew that weren't wearing seat belts hit the floor like sacks of potatoes.

"Artificial gravity seems to be working again," Wario said.

"Thank you Captain Obvious," Iggy said, laying face down on the deck. After everyone recovered from the experience, and a systems check determined that nothing on the ship was critically damaged, repair crews were dispatched to repair the microfractures in the hull and several secondary systems that took minor damage. This time there was a space station on the main view screen.

Image: i991 photobucket c0m / albums / af37 / Antaus / Koopa%20Stories / station_zps8812bae5 jpg

"Whoa, now that's a space station," Alexander said.

"Tactical, are there and ships in the vicinity?" Larry said.

"No sir, there aren't any enemy vessels on sensors," the tactical officer said. That brought a strange look from Larry and everyone seated around him. According to Ludwig and Iggy this space station was supposedly the location from which the Stinit were launching all of their attacks. Not having any ships to defend a critical outpost like this didn't make sense by any measure of the word.

"Scan the station, are there any life signs aboard?" Larry said.

"I'm detecting several hundred Stinit on the station but it's possible there may be more. The station's main reactor is interfering with scans near the core," the tactical officer said.

"Scan for offensive and defensive systems," Iggy said.

"I can't identify the type of weapons but sensors indicate the station is equipped with 66 energy weapon ports and 33 tubes for some form of projectile weaponry. There also appear to be four large scale shield generators. I'm not detecting power being fed to any of them," the tactical officer said. Yet again Alexander and the others couldn't make sense of anything the tactical officer was saying, it was almost like the Stinit didn't even know they were there. While everyone was trying to think it over Alexander remember something that Ludwig said from and earlier briefing. Almost jumping out of his chair he made quick time to the tactical station and stood next to the human officer looking down at the sensor readout.

"How detailed a scan can you run on the station?" Alexander said. Looking over he finally noticed the man appeared to be Asian with short black hair and was wearing a plain silver uniform without any form of markings on it.

"With the shields down I can get some fairly detailed scans," the tactical officer said.

"Alexander Magnus by the way," Alexander said.

"Lieutenant Yashido Zhou," Yashido said.

"Right, can you tell me where the Stinit are concentrated in the station?" Alexander said. Yashido tapped away at the controls and he watched as the sensors focused on the Stinit life signs and the section of the station they were located on.

"They appear to be centralized around the the station's main reactor, though I can't be sure, because it's giving off energy readings similar to the wormhole we came through. The rest of the station appears to be running on minimal power," Yashido said.

"Iggy, I'll bet you a hundred coins they don't have a clue that we're sitting out here," Alexander said.

"And what makes you say that?" Iggy said.

"Think back to the log entries you and Ludwig translated, the Stinit said that someone told them where to find the station. They didn't build it and from the look of things I'd say they barely know how to run it," Alexander said.

"This'll be like shooting fish in a barrel," Larry said. "Target the core and fire all weapons." Yashido did as ordered and armed all the the ship's weapon systems. With considerable interest Alexander watched and several blue energy beams lanced out and a dozen torpedoes fired. The energy weapons struck the hull to no effect and he almost laughed as the torpedoes bounced off exploding some distance out in space.

"What the?" Larry said. "What's the hull of that thing made out of?"

"A type of metal we've never encountered before. Scanning," Yashido said. "There's nothing in the database about the type of materials used to construct the station. However the density is off the scale."

"Looks like we're going to have to do this the old fashioned way," Wario said.

"Can you... digitize us inside?" Alexander said.

"The compression beam can't penetrate the hull," Yashido said.

"Then how are we going to get inside? I want to do some damage," Wario said.

"Find a docking bay, I'll try to override the door controls," Iggy said. Once a docking bay was located the prince took at seat and one of the empty work station on the bridge and began to reconfigure the controls as Alexander watched. After a few minutes of work Iggy managed to establish a communications link with the station computer which presented the first problem. It was in an alien language not even remotely similar to that of the Stinit and appeared to be quite complicated.

"Great, the one time I need Ludwig and he's at home asleep," Iggy said.

"Tell me you can decode this," Alexander said.

"Possibly, but it'll take time. I don't suppose you've read any books about decoding languages," Iggy said.

"Not a clue, it all looks like chicken scratch to me," Alexander said.

"I guess I'll start by running a comparative analysis on the characters and go from there," Iggy said.


	16. Chapter XVI (Final)

In the twenty four hours that it took for Iggy to decipher the language used by the stations computer, Alexander continued to work with Yashido on finding out as much about the enemy as was possible. While much was learned there were a lot of questions that remained unanswered. None of the ships inside the station were capable of travel through deep space. This left Alexander to question how they got here in the first place. Then there was the matter of the station's core which was giving off so much energy it was interfering with the sensors.

Something else that peaked Alexander's interest was the fact the core was giving of every type of energy known to koopa or man, and quite a few types they'd never seen before. According to Iggy, who stopped long enough to look at the sensor readouts, the amount of energy the station was producing was roughly equal to ten times that of Mushroom World's sun. Again Alexander was left to question who would build a station like this and for what purpose, none of this made any sense. There was also a sneaking suspicion that there was more going on than met the eye but without any evidence to back it up he remained quiet on that.

"How are you coming on deciphering that language?" Alexander said, leaning close to Iggy's workstation.

"I'll be done in a few minutes, after that it shouldn't take me long to override the codes that control the docking bay doors," Iggy said.

"I don't suppose by any chance you could just send the station a remote command to blow itself up?" Alexander said.

"If only, all of the station's primary systems are protected against remote access. The encryption codes guarding those systems would take me years, if ever, to crack," Iggy said.

"Looks like we're just going to have to do it the old fashioned way," Alexander said. After having tried several different approaches it was becoming more obvious by the moment the only way they were going to be able to destroy the station was from the inside. They did the advantage that with the station's shields down the ship was able to scan it. From that they had the layout of the station's outer structure and the lieutenant was ready to monitor their progress to let them know if any Stinit were approaching. The only problem with that was as they got closer to the core, the less effective the sensors were.

Earlier when Alexander asked about the location of the Stinit population the sensors could barely detect a few hundred. There could very well be a lot more or a lot less, and he was hoping for the latter rather than the former. There was no way to tell exactly what they were getting into until they were inside the station itself. For several minutes Iggy continued to work until one of the dock bays in the front of that station started to open. The order was given by Larry to take the ship in and Alexander could feel his pulse rate picking up. This was it, they were heading into the fortress of the enemy to put this war to an end once and for all. As they approached the docking bay a cascading yellow beam latched onto the ship.

"Don't worry it's an energy grappler, it's part of the automated docking sequence," Iggy said. As the ship was pulled in the tension on the bridge was intense. The bay itself was large enough to hold at least five ships the size of the one he was on, and it wasn't the only one. Here it was as dark as the space outside and it didn't appear the station had been in use for a very long time. The ship shuddered lightly as the docking clamps attached and Larry gave the order to secure the ship leaving it in the hands of the Hammer Sister first officer. Before they left the four went down to the armory where Iggy and Larry took wands. Alexander and Wario took a variety of items like fire flowers, ice flowers, and Mushrooms. Once they were ready Larry called the lieutenant to asked if they could be transported directly into the station itself. Again their efforts were stifled upon leaning the compression beam still couldn't penetrate the walls, the farthest the could safely go was onto a pressurized walkway that attached itself to one of the docking ports on the side of the ship. For a second time Alexander saw only a bright flash of light before the four of them were standing just outside in the pressurized walkway.

The docking bay was extremely cold causing Alexander to shiver lightly as the group started to walk forward. Even as calm as everything was the tension only continued to rise. One thing that bothered Alexander is why a station like this would have been abandoned in the first place. The darkness pervading the area didn't help and were it not for an illuminated strip of material along the wall it would be pitch black. The group moved along in silence toward a control room with several monitors and computer banks that were deactivated. Larry tried several of the controls and got no response which brought another question to Alexander's mind. If the core wasn't powering the station, what was it being used for. Even he didn't think the Stinit cloning process could take up that much. After pulling a panel off one of the control stations Iggy was about to try to work on it when Wario managed to pry to doors open. The silence was cut by the sharp sound of metal grinding against metal causing the others to jump.

"Wario, we're trying to be quiet, remember?!" Alexander said.

"Then shut up," Wario said, walking into the hallway beyond. The group was lucky that there wasn't anything nearby and they continued down the barely lit hallway with Yashido giving them directions over a small hand held communicator that Larry had. For the next few minutes they walked quietly down the halls occasionally ducking into other halls to avoid groups of Stinit that passed by. Inside one Alexander, overcome by a feeling he couldn't explain, ate a fire flower and ignited a fireball in one hand to provide light.

"Alexander, what are you doing?" Iggy said.

"We're being watched," Alexander said.

"By what?" Larry said.

"I don't know, but ever since we set foot on this station I've had the feeling we're being watched," Alexander said. As cautiously as possible he walked down the hall and then back again seeing only dull gray walls. The search revealed nothing, yet Alexander couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching them. Every hall in the station thus far was identical in design with smooth metal walls and no visible controls.

"Calm down, you're letting your paranoia get the better of you," Iggy said.

"No he's not," Wario said. "I thought I was just being paranoid too, but I got the same feeling. Something ain't right about this place." The fireball was extinguished as the party moved on only now they were more cautious than before. It was one thing for a person to be paranoid about something, but when two people had the same hunch there was often more to it than met the eye.

"How close are we to the control deck?" Larry said, speaking into his communicator.

"I don't know, sensors aren't picking up anything. It must be close to the core," Yashido said. "The only thing that even resembles control deck is nine levels down."

"What do you mean resembles?" Larry said.

"Deck fourteen appears to be larger than the others, that's all I can tell you," Yashido said.

"How are we suppose to get down nine decks, there isn't any power here," Larry said.

"There's a service shaft junction a few hundred feet ahead on the right, it runs most of the length of the ship," Yashido said. With an annoyed grunt Larry stuffed the communicator into his shell as the group continued on. No other Stinit appeared as the group continued to move down the hall and as indicated a few hundred feet ahead they found a hatch in one of the walls marked with alien writing. Like most service shafts the hatch could be removed manually so work could still be done if the station was without power. After it was pulled from the wall Larry went first followed by Iggy, Wario, and Alexander brought up the rear, resealing the hatch from the inside in the process.

Like the rest of the station the group was greeted only by smooth metal walls and a ladder leading down as they went. Every so often there was a hatch leading out which Alexander counted to see how many decks they had descended. When the group reached six there was a loud and steady thumping sound from above which caused everyone to look up. As they watched lights appeared to come on in sections that were getting closer to them, despite the lack of any visible light sources.

"Alexander, out, now," Iggy said. As he was the closest to a hatch Alexander reached out only to have the entire wall in front of him tear away. Entire sections of station began to crumble with plating that appeared to fall apart, them a large section of the shaft they were in began to move through the crumbling station causing everyone to hold on to the ladder for dear life. It was at this point Alexander was sure he was about to die, then as quickly as everything started, it stopped. As everyone watched a deck formed below them before the ladder tore apart and they hit the floor as walls began to rise. Not long after that there was a roof overhead and a door in the wall to the left.

"What just happened?!" Larry said, holding his communicator with one hand as he looked up at the ceiling.

"I don't know sir, there was a power surge from the core, then according to sensors the station started to reconfigure itself," Yashido said.

"No kidding, the service shaft we were in just turned into a room. With us in it," Larry said.

"I know, entire sections of the station tore themselves apart then reshaped into... something else," Yashido said. "The layout of most of the decks has changed."

"So where are we now?" Larry said.

"About eight decks above your destination and 200 feet back from your previous location," Yashido said. Hearing this conversation Alexander couldn't even think of anything to say. The technology used to design this station was fearsome. For it to have the ability to reshape itself on a scale like this was beyond anything he could have imagined. When thoughts finally could form words Alexander just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"This is some crazy insane technology, and here I thought that ship of yours was advanced," Alexander said.

"What, that antique?" Iggy said. At this Alexander sat up and looked over at the prince like he was crazy. A ship capable of travel like the vessel they arrived in wasn't an antique in his mind. How Iggy could refer to it in such a manner just didn't make sense to him.

"Antique? That ship is way beyond anything Earth is capable of. It would take us centuries to even come close to that," Alexander said.

"Assuming you asked about the Accord earlier I take it you did some reading regarding the history of Mushroom World?" Iggy said.

"In the castle library, saw a picture of Mushroom Star City," Alexander said.

"Right, a city a lot like those on Earth that existed here... 7,000 years ago. If it wasn't for the Accords, Mushroom World would probably have technology like this right now, maybe even more, and that ship in the docking bay would be in a museum," Iggy said. Thinking the situation over Alexander realized that made a lot of sense. If the Accords hadn't been drafted to limit technology in fear of another war, 7,000 years worth of steady advancement likely would have resulted in radically different world than the one he now knew. There could have been an interstellar empire for all Alexander knew.

Once again about to pry the doors open Wario stopped when the lights in the room came on. It would seem that the dormant station they had come onto was no longer such and the doors opened by themselves. As they started to step out into the hallway they could see that everything wasn't powered. The hall ended in a t-junction in both directions, but to the left there were no lights. After Iggy mentioned it wasn't likely for the sections of the station with power to tear themselves apart, it didn't even take a vote for everyone to head right. It was bad enough having to invade a station with mobs of creatures that wanted to kill you, now the very building around them was rearranging itself on a whim. Near the four-way at the end of the hall they crossed paths with a group of Stinit who seemed rather surprised to see them.

"Mine mine mine!" Wario said. Being near the front of the group Alexander grabbed a loose deck plate as large as he was and placed it on his back like a ramp. The maniacal laughter that Wario let out as he ran up and over Alexander was rather disturbing, and he wasted little time wading into all seven of the creatures. For his part Alexander was almost squashed by Wario's weight and several inches closer to the floor.

"Never doing that again," Alexander said. Against a massive man who seemed bloodthirsty for combat the Stinit soldiers never stood a chance. The first one was beaten to death being used as a club against the others and in short order they were all laid out in the hallway. Throughout the brief fight the only injury Wario sustained was a small sword being stabbed into his forearm, though at the time he was so frenzied it went unnoticed. It wasn't until Wario calmed down and twisted the arm that the pain finally registered. Without a second thought he ripped the weapon free and tossed it aside. About to continue on Wario finally noticed how deep the stab wound was when blood continued to flow steadily down his arm.

"Hey Iggy, you mind?" Wario said. The prince walked over removing a wand from his shell and started to slowly move it over the injury. The tip glowed without Iggy even having the mutter anything and after nearly two-minutes the wound stopped bleeding and closed. Once the procedure was finished Wario flexed his arm a little, nodded, and gave Iggy a thumbs up. The only thought to go through Alexander's mind after that was being glad he was on their side. It would seem Wario had a taste for destruction. The other thing he noticed about the Stinit was that they didn't do very well in small groups, without overwhelming numbers there was little fight in them. As everyone continued on it also occurred to Alexander that it likely wasn't random patrols they were encountering. The Stinit that Wario killed seemed to be talking amongst themselves with two of them even laughing before the fighting began. It seemed more like creatures just wandering around the station.

This whole mission was becoming more difficult by the moment. Alexander wasn't even sure how they would even get to the control deck with the station rearranging itself the way it was. Near the end of another hall the entire station started to shake bringing the group to a halt. At first Alexander thought it

was going to rearrange again then everyone looked down upon feeling a tingling sensation to see small arcs of energy running across the floor. The energy didn't hurt any of them but it was disturbing none the less. Larry immediately called the lieutenant to find out what was going on, only to learn the station's power readings were off the scale. It was directing a massive beam of energy to point in space that was causing some sort of reaction. The exact purpose remained a mystery.

"What do you think it's doing?" Larry said. "I don't want to be on this station if it decides to blow itself up."

"I don't know sir, somehow the energy is converting itself into billions of tons of hydrogen and helium within an artificial gravity well," Yashido said.

"It's creating a star..." Alexander said. Only a few seconds after the sound of a massive explosion the station shook gently, but didn't appear to take any damage.

"Sir, you're not going to believe this... the station just created a star," Yashido said. Now more than ever Alexander wished he'd found this station under different circumstances. The chance to study something this advanced would be a once in a lifetime opportunity, unfortunately there happened to be hordes of creatures here that wanted to kill all of them. Again the group stopped as they walked down the hall, but not because of Stinit soldiers or energy rippling across the floor. This time they passed by a window only to see the station directing a pale blue beam into space some distance ahead of them. The beam ended in what appeared to be a large ball of energy with small spheres appearing around it as they were drawn into the larger mass.

"What's it doing now?" Larry said.

"Simple, what good is a star without something to go around it," Alexander said. They all seemed surprised by what he said, only to see the beam eventually fade and in it's place was a planet complete with clouds, landmasses, oceans, and everything one would expect to see for a world able to support life. This time even Alexander was curious because the planet wasn't moving, instead it was just sitting there in space. Next the station struck the planet with a yellow beam like the grappler used in the automated docking sequence, only much larger. Rather than a steady discharge it fired in a series of rapid pulses eventually causing the planet to slowly rotate.

"It didn't just create a star, it's making an entire solar system," Alexander said.

"That's... incredible," Iggy said. Even Alexander was in awe of what the station was capable of. Something like this was no doubt built by beings beyond anything even they could imagine. What at first appeared to be little more than a station in space was so much more. The more Alexander thought about it the more he realized it was closer to an engine, an engine capable of creating practically anything. Even he felt it was petty to try and destroy the station, at least in a way. On the other hand he knew the infestation here wouldn't stop until everyone and everything he knew was dead. That was one thing he couldn't allow to happen, even at the cost of this station.

"You know Iggy, there's one part of this whole plan that's been bothering me since we got here," Alexander said. As the prince walked over to the window where Alexander was standing they both watched for a moment as the station continued to speed the rotation of the planet to the point it starting moving to the left. It was no doubt taking up an orbit and from the look of things it appeared to be in that one particular sweet spot for a solar system, much like Earth. It wasn't too hot, or too cold, just enough to be conducive to life.

"What's that?" Iggy said.

"Say we do make it to the control deck, the self-destruct system will be encrypted no doubt requiring some sort of code to activate. How do plan on dealing with that?" Alexander said.

"Ludwig's not the only genius around the castle you know. Once things start heating up, just keep them off my back long enough for me to get the job done," Iggy said. There wasn't one thing about that sentence that Alexander liked, but not because he thought the prince was up to something. There was no doubt in his mind that Iggy was up to something, it was what came after. The Stinit themselves weren't proving to be much of a problem because Alexander had already figured out their battle strategy, and it wasn't simply numbers. The Stinit were lousy close quarters fighters and even their reliance on numbers was flawed. The only real strength they had was overrunning someone before they had time to react. The station shuddered a second time only now instead of freaking out Alexander stood his ground and helped everyone hold on to each other.

"Great, here we go again," Larry said.

"I wouldn't get too worked up about it, we're not in any danger," Alexander said. When the station started to reshape itself a second time the only thing around them that remained intact was the hull and the floor they were standing on. Everything else once again tore itself apart, the walls, the ceiling, down to the wiring in the walls became free floating. Then as if possessed of a mind of their own the pieces began to swirl around slamming themselves into place in a completely new design. All this time the section of floor they were standing on remained solid, although it moved down several decks in the process none of the pieces of the station came near them. Soon they were in another hall much like the one they'd left. Once everything calmed down they all looked to Alexander.

"How'd you know we wouldn't get hurt?" Wario said.

"Think about it Wario, the first time the station rearranged itself we were in a service tunnel," Alexander said.

"Yeah, so what?" Wario said.

"So, didn't you think it strange how the only thing that wasn't torn apart was the section of the service junction were in, then we get deposited into a room," Alexander said.

"And this station is in the process of creating a solar system capable of supporting life," Iggy said. "This place was designed to preserve life, not destroy it." Alexander snapped the fingers on his left hand and pointed to Iggy who'd just said exactly what he was thinking. As they continued down the hall he was starting to think that the person or persons behind the creation of this place were indeed benevolent. This station no doubt had the power to wipe them out with ease, but it didn't. Not only that, when the station reconfigured itself, it seemed to go to great lengths not to harm anyone on board.

"Too bad we can't take this station back to Mushroom World, do you have any idea what we could do with this kind of power?" Larry said.

"Destroy the world," Alexander said.

"What? No, I don't want to destroy the world," Larry said.

"You may not, but this station would," Alexander said.

"Didn't you two just say thing station was designed to preserve life," Larry said.

"Think about it Larry, Mushroom World is balanced by five powers. The four major kingdoms and the combined strength of the minor kingdoms. Now think what would happen if one of those powers sudden became radically more powerful than the others," Alexander said.

"Jealousy, fear, accusations, war," Wario said. "The world would tear itself apart as everyone tried to take control of the station from everyone else." The group fell into silence after that as everyone thought about the implications of what would happen. Not only did the House of Koopa violate the Accords by having a space ship, trying to take this station back with them would be sheer idiocy. It would be the end of life as they knew it on Mushroom World. The only choice in Alexander's mind was to destroy the station. Earlier he had considered only killing the Stinit and leaving the station, but if they found it once they could do it again. To ensure the safety of Mushroom World it had to go. At the end of the hall the group made a short left, coming upon something none of them expected to see.

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There in the center of the room was a single figure wearing a plain blue uniform. When he turned to face the others it was obvious to see that he was a Stinit, only much more advanced than the others. Unlike the gangly creatures they'd seen on the station he appeared almost human, save for the pasty white skin, solid black eyes, and bald head. When he turned to face the others, instead of freaking out he merely looked at them with his deep black eyes and smiled. Still not sure what to expect and certain that this was some sort of trap, the group cautiously walked inside.

"Welcome, my name is High Commander Relgar, I must say with the way the station has been redesigning itself lately lately I wasn't sure you'd even make it," Relgar said. Unlike the commander Mortimer captured in Mushroom World who's features were vaguely humanoid, with the right eye and skin color this one could pass himself off as human superficially.

"You knew we were here?" Iggy said.

"Of course, I've known since the moment you arrived in the docking bay," Relgar said.

"Then why not roll out the troops instead of letting us plod all around the place," Wario said.

"Because if I had the amount of death and destruction your four would have caused would have been immense, and despite what you may think I do care about the lives of those under my command. They are my people after all," Relgar said.

"Don't you mean what's left of them? With the amount of genetic splicing you've done there's not much of what used to be Stinit left," Alexander said.

"For now, you see after we arriving in Mushroom World we finally came upon some genetic material with the potential to restore our own," Relgar said. At this Alexander could hear Iggy and Larry let out loud growls, no doubt angry over the amount of lives already lost in the war.

"If you think the Koopa are just going to lay down and die so you can harvest our genetic material you're out of your mind," Larry said. "We've come here to stop you and that's exactly what we plan to do."

"Actually we're not interested in Mushroom World anymore, it doesn't have enough of what we're looking for," Relgar said. That statement alone left everyone in the room scratching their heads, save Alexander. As they looked at one another he took a step forward feeling an almost uncontrollable anger start to well up inside. Alexander already knew all too well what Relgar was talking about and that this conversation was about to come to a violent end.

"Wait a minute, if you're not interested in-" Wario said, only to be cut short.

"I'll kill you before I let even a single Stinit set foot on Earth," Alexander said.

"Earth?" Larry said.

"Look at him Larry, does he look like a Koopa to you? They've been assimilating human genetic material since they arrived, but there aren't enough human in Mushroom World for them. They want more," Alexander said.

"How astute, your friend is absolutely right. Once we've harvested the population of Earth it should finally give us enough material so that we don't have to go hunting anymore. We will be able to restore the Stinit Empire and bred a whole new world of people," Relgar said.

"At the cost of a mere eight billion lives," Alexander said.

"What's the fate of a single world compared to an empire that has lasted for more than a million years!" Relgar said. "Besides, we've made use of a hundred times that many people to ensure our survival until now."

"I think I've heard enough, it's time for you to die," Alexander said.

"Well, I do believe some of my comrades might have something to say about that," Relgar said. With a snap of his finger the group heard the sound of feet running down not only the hall behind them, but the one opposite them in the left wall of the room. The footfalls that came as they ran into the room weren't those of the tiny creature they'd fought in the past, these were much heavier. What came running into the room with a snarl made it obvious this fight would be much more dangerous than any they'd faced in the past.

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"What can I say, Koopa genetic material proved useful after all," Relgar said. The situation was starting to quickly spiral out of control as dozens of Stinit shock troops came down the hall filing into the room like a mass of hungry teeth waiting for something to tear into. Although he wasn't scared Alexander did realize just how dangerous the situation was. Not only did they have to deal with Reglar, now they had another generation of Stinit shock troops waiting to kill them. Shock troops that were much larger and deadlier than those faced in the past. Larry and Iggy both had their wands out, but it was Wario who made the first move. Relgar hadn't even given his troops the order to kill them when the larger man's hands and forearms burst into flames. He turned to face some of the soldiers with an expression that gave even Alexander pause.

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The only thing that came from Wario was a low cackle before he lunged at the soldiers coming into the room from the hall they'd used. Larry and Iggy turned to face the others and without even thinking Alexander lunged for Reglar. The commander was taken by surprise in the sudden shift of strategy, he tried to raise a personal shield only to be tackled to the floor instead. Alexander quickly raised up to punch only to be struck in the face and tossed aside. As the two rose Relgar held both of his hands up.

"If you think I need a shield to defeat you, then come and find out just how different I am from those under his command," Relgar said. That was an invitation that Alexander readily accepted and came at him with a several powerful punches. They were all quickly deflected and when he spun around for a roundhouse kick, the commander ducked and landing a punch squarely between the legs. That brought Alexander to the floor with a pained yell as the young man held himself. With only a chuckle Relgar took a moment to watch the others fighting the shock troops.

Iggy had raised an energy barrier in front of those they were fighting that made approaching them quite difficult. The barrier wasn't strong enough to keep all of them out, but it severely impeded movement. Those that did try to get through were being shot down by Larry. For his part Wario was fighting much like before, tearing through the soldiers with a sadistic glee. He already had several claw and bite wounds but they didn't seem to slow the large man down much. As Alexander finally started to regain his feet a solid uppercut set one crashing to the floor at Relgar's feet with a broken neck. The commander turned around and received a swift kick between the legs of his own. It seemed to hurt but nothing like it should have.

"Sorry, Stinit don't work quite the same as humans," Relgar said. Never one to simply give up Alexander came forward and attacked now with speed rather than power. His punches were much faster than before enough so to nearly hit the commander on at least two occasions. Alexander started to come around with an elbow aimed for the face when Relgar reached out grabbing him by the neck. With one arm he lifted Alexander up off the floor.

"And now we see another difference between our species, unlike the average human we Stinit use the full measure of strength granted by our muscles," Relgar said. With a growl Alexander pulled back and hammered a fist into his face hard enough to put the commander on his butt. Both feet hit the floor firmly and he stood there as Relgar seemed surprised to be hit so hard and spit a small amount of brown blood onto the floor.

"I'm not your average human," Alexander said. In light of having been beaten by Mario, Roy, Bowser, and fought to a standstill by Wendy, he was getting sick of losing. All his life Alexander had fought to survive, but in recent times those abilities seemed to be lacking and it was more than personal pride at stake here. The Stinit had changed their focus from Mushroom World to Earth. Though Alexander had never much cared for strangers in general that was a far cry from standing by and watching millions of innocent people be slaughtered. There was a part of Alexander that understood their fight to survive, any race in their position would want to continue living, but what the Stinit had done was inexcusable.

If Relgar was telling the truth, something supported by Ludwig's genetic analysis, they had slaughtered dozens, possibly even hundreds of races in their effort to survive. In Alexander's eyes anything they may have once been was long gone, consumed by a fight to survive that had turned them into little more than a race of mass murderers. After Reglar stood and attacked once more the fight became a rather one sided effort. As the commander attacked, instead of trying to fight back Alexander simply dodged and weaved like he had at first when fighting Bowser.

"What's the matter human, lost the will to fight?" Relgar said. This time when he attacked Alexander deflected the punch and leaned back as the commander swung around with an elbow and nearly knocked the wind out of him with a punch under the ribs.

"Not really, just getting an idea of what I'm dealing with," Alexander said.

"Oh really, and just what are you dealing with?" Relgar said, coughing a few times.

"Just a petty tyrant who tries to use survival as an excuse for genocide and mass murder," Alexander said. Reglar lunged forward trying to tackle Alexander only to countered with a knee to the gut. When the commander doubled over in pain he brought an elbow down on the small of the back. Much to Alexander's surprise, Relgar hit the floor holding his back and appeared to be in almost unbearable pain.

"Interesting, a lot closer to the groin than I thought," Alexander said. When he looked back to the others, Larry, Iggy, and Wario were now back to back as the Stinit relied on their old tactic of using sheer numbers. Soldiers continued to flood into the room climbing over the bodies of their dead to try and kill their opponents. The situation was quickly spiraling out of control as all three were severely wounded, even Wario was starting to slow under the weight of his injuries. It was obvious now that Iggy would never have the change to reach the control panel in front of the power core and if he continued to fight Relgar it wouldn't matter. Even if Alexander won the others would likely be dead by then and he would be soon to follow. Even for all his strength and skill, fighting so many creatures would have been an act of suicide.

With Relgar still rolling around on the floor Alexander took the opportunity to run across the room to the computer terminal in front of the station's main reactor. Almost immediately any hope of trying to do to anything to help was dashed. Not only were the button in the keyboard in an alien language, anything Alexander pressed only brought up a screen with a blinking cursor on it. It was no doubt a request for some sort of password. About to punch the screen in frustration he was once again overtaken by the sensation of being watched, yet this time it was much stronger than before. There was no way to tell where it was coming from or who was responsible, but something just didn't sit right with him.

Over the sounds of battle came what sounded almost like a voice on the wind, a faint whisper, that told him to hurry. Shaken by this Alexander's attention was drawn back to the computer terminal by a tiny static shock and he ended up doing a double take in surprise. Now the touch screen keyboard was configured like like something he was used to and in English lettering. Still unsure of exactly what was going on Alexander looked up at the screen to see a series of letters and numbers enter themselves without his help. This was followed by the response 'Welcome back Commander Ralt' before shifting to what appeared to be a main menu of some sort.

"What the hell is going on?" Alexander said. The shock still hadn't worn off as he quickly typed at the controls trying to find anything that looked like a self-destruct sequence. By this time Relgar had managed to push past the pain and was already starting to stand up. The computer seemed to know exactly what Alexander was looking for and presented him with yet another problem, there was no self-destruct sequence. Apparently whoever designed this station never meant for it to be destroyed.

"What do you think you're doing?" Relgar said.

"Just a little research," Alexander said.

"And exactly what kind of research would that be, you can't do much without the command codes. We've been on this station for over 50 years and haven't been able to bypass them," Relgar said.

"Then I guess your as dumb as you look," Alexander said. The quickly punched a series of buttons on the control panel causing the glass in the center of the reactor to open.

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Inside there was a swirling mass of blue energy from which Alexander could see energy flowing up from below and continuing to rise above it. Being able to see the energy flowing through the core was an interesting sight to sat the least, but from here on out things were only going to get trickier.

"What... how?" Relgar said.

"Simple, you're stupid, I'm not. Now call off the goon squad or I'll blow this station to hell and back with all of us on it," Alexander said, turning to face the commander. Now it was Relgar's turn to be shocked and with another snap of his fingers the Stinit soldiers quickly backed away leaving an injured and bloodied trio near the back of the room.

"What are you going to do?" Relgar said.

"Well let's see, when we first came onto the station the idea was to find a way to somehow blow it up. Preferably with enough time for us escape. Funny thing is though the station doesn't have a self-destruct sequence, imagine that," Alexander said.

"Imagine that, and you just entered the command code," Relgar said. He started to raise his hand to snap his fingers again when Alexander just arched a brow.

"I wouldn't," Alexander said.

"And why not, you just said the station doesn't have a self-destruct sequence," Relgar said.

"Tell me something great and mighty commander," Alexander said, tapping away at he controls. "How much power do you think is flowing through the core of this station?" Not sure what was going on Relgar looked back to see Larry, Iggy, and Wario disappear in blue pillars of light.

"What did you just do?" Relgar said.

"I transported them back to our ship, although you still haven't answered my question," Alexander said. What he also failed to tell Reglar was that he also transported the ship and everyone on it into a nearby sector of space. With the amount of power harnessed by the station something like that would have barely registered any sort of energy drain.

"The amount of the power this station uses is immeasurable, believe me we've tried," Relgar said.

"True, very true, now tell me this, did you know the station itself doesn't produce any power at all?" Alexander said.

"However interesting that may be, I fail to see how that has any relevance on why I shouldn't just kill you and take over the station," Relgar said.

"Because you wouldn't make it five steps before I blow this station up," Alexander said.

"And exactly how would you accomplish that?" Relgar said.

"Because like I said, you're stupid, I'm not. Now try to use that little brain of your and follow me on this. The reason this station doesn't generate any power of its own is because it pulls it all through a small rupture in space near the bottom of the core. Where exactly the power comes from I don't know, but even this station can't harness all of it. That's why the excess power is fed through a second rupture near the top of the core. Back to the source I'd imagine," Alexander said.

"So what," Relgar said.

"So," Alexander said, holding his finger over a button on the control panel. "What do you think would happen if I sealed the rupture at the top of the core? How long do you think it would take to overload?"

"You wouldn't, not with your ship still in the docking bay. Transporting your friends proved you care for them and if you blow this station up, they die along with the rest of us," Relgar said.

"I wouldn't bet my life on it," Alexander said. Then without another word, his finger dropped down onto the control panel.

Image: i991 photobucket c0m / albums / af37 / Antaus / Koopa%20Stories / supernova_zps6956f3b9 jpg


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